You'll Never Understand How I Feel!
by Blanket of Rain
Summary: It started out simply enough. Another great day in Echo Creek, another adventure waiting to happen, except it didn't. Something was different with Star and all she wanted to do was spend the day in bed, eating nachos. To what lengths will Marco have to go to understand and help his best friend? After all, he was prepared to do ANYTHING for her. Contains Starco & Princess Marco.
1. Special Day

You'll never understand how I feel!

Chapter 1 – Special Day

It was a wonderful sunny morning in Echo creek. Birds were singing cheerfully on the window ledge of the Diaz home, the animated flowers on the front porch were dancing and the smell of pancakes and bacon was wafting through the house. It was the kind of day that Star would usually jump into and seize for all it was worth, starting with waking up her best friend no matter how much he still wanted to sleep in, but not today.

BEEP BEEP BEEP! The cellphone beside the young man's bed started to ring and vibrate, waking him up from his restful sleep with a yawn.

"Good morning Star." The Latino boy greeted out of habit but got no reply. He rubbed his eyes clear and searched his room. No magical princess from another dimension in sight.

"Star?" He called again, thinking she might be hiding under his bed or in his closet. But after searching his room and finding nothing, he started to get the feeling that something wasn't quite right. It was a wonderful day out and Star would usually drag him off to some adventure. It was too quiet. It was…

"10 in the morning!" Marco yelled out as he saw his alarm clock. Something was definitely wrong. He rushed out of his room and sped down the hallway to Star's tower, knocking the door furiously as he got there.

"Star! Star!" Are you in there?" His voice betraying his worry. No answer. Definitely not good.

"Star?! I'm coming in!" He shouted to make sure she heard him. "Please don't be naked, please don't be naked." He wished to himself, not wanting to get into some kind of misunderstanding.

With one swing of his legs, he knocked down the heavy wooden door and jumped inside ready to save his best friend. His arms held up to block against any attack and his feet just wide enough to allow him to dodge away, but nothing came.

The room was untouched and there was no sign of any scuffle.

"Star?" He called out again.

"Marco?" A groggy voice answered back. It was Star, still lying in her bed, wrapped in her blankets.

"Star, are you okay?" Marco asked worriedly as he ran over to her. At least she seemed safe.

"Not really. I feel really tired and heavy. Could you make me some of your nachos?" Star's voice sounded oddly monotone and it worried Marco. She was hugging her knees. She seemed to be in pain.

"Are you sick Star? Should I go get Glossaryk or is there something I can get to help?" Marco asked. If this was another Mewnian thing, he would need help from the cryptic blue man.

"No Marco… It's just something that happens every once in a while. I'll be okay. I really want those nachos though." Star licked her soft pink lips, as she thought about the salty, cheesy delight.

Marco chuckled. He wanted to help his best friend, but there was breakfast ready downstairs, the nachos could come later.

"But Star, we have breakfast downstairs, I think it's pancakes and bacon. I really think you should have breakfast first before you eat anything else." Marco replied as he reached out to stroke her dishevelled golden hair, it was something he usually did to calm her down.

"NO MARCO!" Her voice echoed throughout the room.

Star's voice was hot with annoyance. She had batted away his hand and looked at him with irritation in her eyes. "I said I wanted your nachos! Go down and don't come back without them!"

Marco jumped off from her bed. He was shocked at the way she was acting. Sure maybe she was sick or something, but she didn't have to get all angry with him and bat his hand away. He was just trying to comfort her and she had the nerve to be annoyed with him? What gives?

"Fine!" Marco raised his voice just to make it known that he was annoyed. "I'm going down to make your nachos and then I'm leaving you alone for the rest of the day!" Marco stomped his way back across Star's room, grumbling as he did. Star may be loud, over energetic and pushed him into things sometimes, but this was just plain rude of her and Marco wasn't going to stand for it. He was still going to make her nachos though.

As he slowly closed the door to the magical princess' tower, he heard a sound that made his heart soften.

"I'm sorry Marco…" Star said with a sniffle before wrapping herself deeper in her blankets.

"I want chocolates too…"

* * *

A few minutes later…

Marco had eaten breakfast and was busy stirring the secret sauce he used to flavor the meat in his nachos. He was still a bit annoyed at Star, but he'd never be so angry as to not make her nachos. After all, she did say sorry.

"I mean… I was just trying to comfort her mom. Then she slaps away my hand like I'm trying to take away her candy and yells at me to make her nachos? Star can be weird, but this is just a different kind of weird." Marco explained to his mom, hoping she would have some insight into his problem.

Angie seemed deep in thought for a while, but then giggled, making Marco raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Did she seem like she was in pain?" Angie asked, a smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah, but she said she wasn't sick…" Marco replied. "But still, she isn't like that usually. She said sorry though, before I left. It's like she's all moody…" Marco waved his arms around to emphasize his point.

Angie giggled again, walking around the kitchen and putting plates and utensils back in their place.

"Mom… what's going on?" Marco asked, knowing that he was out of the loop.

Angie then turned down the heat on the stove and motioned to Marco to sit down.

"Listen Marco, I know it might be hard, but you have to be really sensitive to Star right now."

"But I'm always sensitive to her. I practically know what she's thinking most of the time."

"I know mijo, but now is a very _special_ time when you really need to pay attention to her and be patient with her." Angie explained. Marco didn't like the way she placed emphasis on the word special. He felt like he was stepping into something he shouldn't.

"Just finish up the nachos and I'll be back in a bit. You'll get it." Angie left Marco before he could ask another question. He just didn't get it and so as he finished up the nachos, pouring the cheese and other toppings onto the chips, his mind went in circles. He was almost at the answer he could feel it. Something was just stopping him from reaching it.

He heard his mother's footsteps comeback down, holding something in her hand.

"Here you go mijo. Bring these up to Star with the nachos. She'll know what to do with them." Angie put two things and a glass of water on the tray Marco was going to carry up to Star.

His eyes widened in comprehension and his mother's smile told him he wasn't wrong. If he didn't get it then, he got it now. Painkillers and that napkins had been placed on the tray along with a plate of nachos, tissue, chocolate and a glass of water.

His jaw dropped. It was THAT time of the month.

Of all the weird things he experienced with Star, he had to admit this would probably be the weirdest. Not to mention, he wasn't sure if he was the best person to be with Star at the moment, but with a push and a thumbs up from his mom and his dad, who had been clued into the situation, he was left in front of Star's door.

He knocked and swallowed the lump in his throat before going in.

It was going to get a little weird and a little wild.

* * *

"Marcoooooo, I want to watch another movie." Star shook him from behind as if it would magically get another movie to play.

The poor teen was on his metaphorical tiptoes around the magical princess. He didn't want to upset her and get narwhal blasted in the face a second time. Or to talk about the thing. In fact he didn't mention it at all, even when Star went to put the bathroom to use "the thing" his mom gave for Star to use.

He acted like it didn't happen at all and Star was being too comfortable with him. Didn't she view him as a guy at all? And wouldn't Janna or Jackie or even Starfan13 be better suited to do this?

"Okay, okay, what kind of movie do you want?" Marco asked, from his place on Star's bed.

"I don't know... You decide." Star replied lazily, she was still in a bit of pain despite the painkillers.

"Ummm… what about a Disney movie?" Marco suggested.

"Ohhhhh! Which one?" Star asked, a bit of pep coming back to her.

"The one with the princess and singing?" Marco joked, not earning a reaction from his bestfriend.

"They all have princesses and singing Marco…" Star replied irritably, not in the mood for jokes.

"Beauty and the Beast." Said Marco.

"Reminds me of when Toffee kidnapped you." Star replied quicky.

"Frozen?" He tried agin.

"You'd think Elsa and Anna would be more messed up since they were trapped in a castle till they were teens and you know what, Rapunzel should've gone whacko in her head too."

"That's a no for both then… Something classic, Snow White?"

"Ugh no." Star stuck her tongue out in disgust. "She's like the un-starriest of all the princesses."

Marco had to agree with that. "Hercules?"

"Oooooh, on second though… we just watched that recently"

"That was last month Star."

"Well, last month seems like yesterday, get with the program Marco."

Marco began to mumble something incoherently before continuing to suggest movies for the next 10 minutes.

"No, just no Marco. Seriously, do you even know me at all?" Star said, as if she was exasperated.

"Stay calm Diaz, stay cool, stay patient. Inner peace…" Marco told himself despite his patience being tested.

"Well, what do you want Star, give me a clue please?" Marco was begging, both in his mind and in real life.

"I want ice cream." Star replied.

Marco knew he had to be sensitive to Star, but he was getting REALLY confused with what to do now. Really, really confused. "Star…"

"Oh I know! I want that Disney movie with the Mexican guy bull guy who died for love and reanimated his dead ancestors to fight some bandits!" Star smiled with glee, clapping her hands.

Marco just stared for a moment, confused at Star's horrible description of the movie and how she got that idea from ice cream. "Star, the Book of Life isn't a Disney movie."

"Well, I'm not the one who suggested Disney Diaz. That was all you."

Marco just sighed and searched for the movie on his hard drive. He wasn't really angry at Star, but Star's changes in moods and cravings was really confusing the young man. Well, it was still fun, minus the times Star seemed to want to strangle something out of nowhere.

"Ooookay… here we are. One Mexican movie about reanimating dead family members coming right up." With a click of a button, Marco's job was done and leaned back to relax, but he felt something touching him. Star poked him on the shoulder. Marco turned to Star from the foot of the bed where he had been sitting.

"Marco?" Star asked much too softly than he was used to. Her sudden vulnerability caught Marco off guard, making his heart go for a 100 meter dash.

"I don't need the ice cream anymore, but can we just hug like we do under our friendship snuggly?" Star asked with her sky blue eyes shining in the dark. It made Marco's heart skip a beat. This was Star, his best friend and a princess. While Star would occasionally hug him when they watched movies and he would sometimes hug back, he wasn't entirely sure that doing so for an entire movie on a bed was acceptable for them.

"Don't you want to?" Star bit her bottom lip and looked at Marco with eyes about to break into sorrow.

Marco swore if his heart skipped any more beats, he'd probably die on the spot.

"O-of course I want to! One friendship hug coming right up!" Marco managed to reply. He was glad the lights were dim. Star wouldn't be able to see the flushing on his cheeks. He slipped under the blankets and felt Star put her arms around him, resting her head on his chest as she watched the movie.

"Nothing weird here. Just me and my best friend, cuddling as we watch a romantic comedy…" Marco told himself in his head as he tried his best to act normal.

"No heart you don't get an opinion! And neither does Marco Jr!" Marco's brain announced to the rest of his body as he nervously watched the entire movie with a princess in his arms.

It was going to be a long, long day...

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review so I can make the next chapters better!

Btw I'm also on tumblr as thelittlefaithmnl where I put my art.


	2. A Kick to the Nuts

**Thank you to all the people who read and/or reviewed the story!**

 **Jade's one of a kind -** **I honestly thought I was lessening the fluff, but... hey, fluff is good :D**

 **The Book of Eli - thank you! hope you keep on following!**

 **Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it as well.**

Chapter 2 – A Kick to the Nuts

Two days had passed since Marco's parents had pushed him to be Star's _special_ companion and caretaker. Despite Marco's annoyance with them, they brushed it off as useful life skills for when he got a girlfriend or married. Which would be much sooner than he thought, but that's a story for another day.

Marco lay his head down on the kitchen counter, with a large cup of coffee in hand. He had been drinking coffee to get through school. He had been too tense to sleep well the past few days since Star always asked him to cuddle her while watching a movie, which usually ended with her sleeping and refusing to let him go. It was cute and all, but a bit too wild for the safe kid, who wasn't comfortable sleeping in the same bed as his female housemate, who was the town's sweetheart and the heir to an entire kingdom. He wasn't about to share it with anyone. He didn't even tell Ferguson and Alfonzo, who kept asking him why he smelled like a girl all day.

It would bring about rumors about him and Star. Worse, it would reach the ears of Jackie Lynn Thomas and who knows how bad the rumor would've mutated then. Marco knew gossip was one horrible beast. So he would keep the secret of him tending to his best friend during the end of her menstrual cycle, a secret for the rest of his life.

Or at least try to…

"Marco?" A familiar voice called from behind him. He didn't need to turn around, he had been hearing that voice for more than 2 days straight.

"Hey Star…" He greeted back groggily. They hadn't really talked about the whole thing since it ended and right now, Marco was too tired to be flustered.

"Can I sit down?" Star asked, more timid than she usually was, if at all. She was wearing her teal dress, white boots with stars, purple stockings and red demon horns. She looked perfectly fine and she felt fine as well.

"Sure." Marco replied, lazily patting the chair beside him.

Star sat down and stared at Marco from the corner of her eyes, not wanting to look at him directly. She didn't know how to start this conversation and she rather not, but she was Star Butterfly and she never ran from anything, no matter how dangerous or… awkward.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"So…" Star managed to say after a few moments of strangely comfortable silence. In reply, Marco just stared at her, his head still on the kitchen counter.

The princess began to play with her fingers, tangling and untangling them again and again nervously. It wasn't a common sight.

"Marco… I… I just want to say thank you for looking after me, while I was… you know, all moody and stuff." Star began to twirl her fingers in her hair. She was well aware of everything that had happened, but it was just a tiny bit more difficult to control herself with her whole body out of whack. Okay, maybe not a tiny bit.

"No prob Star. Glad to help my best friend during her girly time." Marco was very aware of the words coming out of his mouth, but his brain was just too shocked and too tired to care.

"Y-yeah… girly time" Star replied, embarrassed and still fiddling with her hair.

"It's cool Star. Studied it in science class., I know that your body was going crazy with your hormones and all, making you moody and causing you to shed your endometrial lining." Marco explained it as if it was the simplest, most common thing in the world and somehow made it up like a pickup line. It kinda creeped Star out.

"Marco! I know what happens to my body, you don't need to spell it out for me and make it sound all science-y." Star retorted before Marco could continue anymore. There were just some lines that weren't crossed. Marco was her best friend, but he was also a boy and not her boyfriend. That kind of talk was reserved for boyfriend status and above. Then again, despite not being her boyfriend or anything like that… she did demand his attention the past few days. So it wasn't entirely his fault.

A loud yawn pushed Star out of her thoughts. Marco had stood up from his seat, leaving his coffee on the counter.

"Well…" Marco yawned again, facing Star and still not in his right state of mind. "I get it you know. Why you couldn't control yourself. You're a wild, free spirited princess and you don't have the same discipline and self-control that I have. You know, karate and strong-willed and all."

Star just stared at Marco as he walked up the stairs.

"Gonna shower then sleep till tomorrow, don't wake me!" Marco's shouted from above before shutting the door to the bathroom.

The magical princess kept staring at the top of the stairs, where she had last seen her best friend. Her eyes began to widen in shock and her mouth was left wide open. Marco Diaz did not just say those words. He did not just assume that going through a freaking period and feeling the insides of your baby basket bleed out was easy and that he could handle it.

She wanted to go up there and Narwhal Blast him in the face… again…

"Ugh Diaz!" Star pulled on her hair in frustration. If he hadn't been her best friend and taken care of her so well the past few days, she would have stuck him to a wild warnicorn and let it run through the forest of certain death. He was a very lucky man.

"Stay cool Star. You're going to get over it. Marco's just tired. In a while everything will be all better and it will all be behind you…" Star repeated this in her head as she walked back to her room as well.

* * *

Hours later…

"Nope! Still not over it!" Star shouted out loud in frustration. It was like some weird female rage was lit up within her and she would not rest until Marco took his statement back.

She was not weak. She was a warrior princess. She was strong independent woman and no man, no matter how cute he looked with his mole or how much his chocolate brown eyes secretly made her weak in the knees, would get away with underestimating her and every other humanoid female in the universe.

"Maybe I just need to talk this out with someone." Star told herself as she rolled off her bed and approached her mirror. There was only one other person she could tell this to in confidence.

"Call Ponyhead." She said to the mirror, eager to talk with her other bestie. She could not hold it in any longer.

The mirror cleared up and there she saw her other bestie, floating without a body as usual.

"Hey B-fly! What's up?" The floating Horsehead greeted.

"Ugh, Ponyhead, you won't believe what just happened!" Star's face showed her irritation clearly. She was gnashing her teeth together and her eyebrows were furrowed.

"Uh-oh, what did Earth Turd do?" Ponyhead asked, narrowing her eyes knowingly. She had long known that Marco had a special place in Star's heart, despite how much she'd deny it.

"He just called me weak! Well not directly, but he said.. _You're a wild, free spirited princess and you don't have the same discipline and self-control that I have. You know, karate and strong-willed and all._ " Star repeated in a sarcastic fake Marco voice.

"Whoa he said what?!" Ponyhead exclaimed in surprise.

"I KNOOOOOOW!" Star replied.

"Then why didn't you just blast Earth turd in the face or turn him into a frog or something?"

"Becaaaaaaase… I just had my period and he took really good care of me while I was all moody and stuff." Star reasoned, crossing her arms and still very annoyed.

"So you mean to tell me… he was saying that he could take having a period better than you could?"

"Yep… that's about right"

"B-fly?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I don't have a body or any of those organs neck down right?"

"Oh yeah…" Star replied, realizing her friend wouldn't know what a period was like either.

"But I support you anyway! You need to get back at Earth turd and teach him how hard it is to be a girl!"

"Yeah!" Star cheered, forgetting what she told herself about not getting back at Marco earlier.

"Yeah!" Ponyhead cheered louder.

"Yeah!" Star cheered back again.

"YEAAAAAAAAH!" Ponyhead cheered so loudly that Star had to cover her ears.

"Ponyhead! Are you still awake?! A voice called from outside Ponyhead's door.

"No dad! I'm asleep, I mean snore snore snore! Gotta go B-fly! Tell me all about it when you're done!" Ponyhead said in a hurry.

The vision of pony head disappeared in an instant, leaving the mirror with Star's image in her night gown wearing an evil smile as the princess was busy hatching a brilliant plan to teach her best friend all about being a woman.

* * *

Star had spent a good part of the night making plans to teach Marco the burdens of being a girl, but nothing seemed right. Making the feeling of being kicked in his family jewels last the rest of the day seemed a good alternative, but she didn't know what that felt like herself, so she threw it aside like the rest of her plans.

"Maybe the kicking in the nuts plan wasn't so bad after all…" Star muttered to herself as she began doodling a little safe kid on another blank piece of paper. She was out of ideas and nothing seemed absolutely perfect.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked from her shoulder.

"Ahhhhh! Glossaryk! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Star held her chest, as if it would calm down her heart.

"But I was here the whole time you were writing and drawing whatever it was." Glossaryk replied.

"Well, don't do it again!" Star was getting sleepy, irritated and she still had no plan to speak of.

Glossaryk floated around Star, studying the things she had been writing.

"So what is this, testing torture on Marco? Forcing him to say he likes you?" the little blue man asked.

"W-what no!" Star denied, not revealing her intentions nor her emotions.

"Come on Star, I'm here to help, you can tell me anything." Glossaryk landed on the paper Star had been scribbling on, forcing her to stop.

"Only if you won't tell mom." Star replied sternly.

"Have I told your mother about any of the things that you've been doing that you're not supposed to be doing?"

"No…"

"Well, then tell me what is all this planning about?"

"Ugh fine… Marco made fun of my period and thinks he can handle it better so I wanna teach him a lesson."

"Ohhhh…"

Glossaryk's mouth widened into a mischievous smile. Star knew what that meant. That meant she had a plan.

"So, so… what are we going to do?!" Star asked excitedly, hopping up and down.

"Calm down Star."

"I am caaaaaaalm." She replied, her body still shaking with excitement.

Glossaryk sighed. It was probably the best he was gonna get for now. "Lucky for you, you're not the only Butterfly who's had this problem with their boyfriend."

Star's hearts lit up bright pink before she had a chance to retort. "Marco's not my boyfriend!"

"No? Could've fooled me… anyway, your mother used the same spell on your father." Glossaryk turned the pages of the large magic tome until he found what he was looking for.

"Here it is, many before you have used it before as well. It's very effective." Glossaryk explained as Star read the ancient writing as well as the little post it notes attached to it.

"It's… It's…" Star muttered under her breath. "It's perfect!" Star shouted in her singsong voice.

This was it, the perfect way to teach Marco how wrong he was. She could not wait to see what would happen tomorrow.


	3. To Understand a Girl's Heart

Chapter 3 – To understand a Girl's Heart

It was another beautiful day in Echo Creek. Mr Sun was shining his brightest with just enough clouds around him to provide shade for the pedestrians walking through the small town streets. A nice breeze was blowing through the town, making the leaves on the trees dance and sway to a gentle rhythm. Finally the laser puppies were happily playing around in the front yard and preventing any mail to be delivered as a certain red hooded teen had slept in on a school day.

This specific Latino teen had wrapped himself tightly in his blankets with only his unruly bed-hair poking out. He wasn't in the best of spirits this morning.

"Ugh… I feel so strange." Marco thought to himself, feeling something very odd about his body. "What time is it?"

"Marco the bus is here!" Star shouted from somewhere downstairs.

"WHAT!?" He shouted in surprise, falling off the bed and stopping himself from cursing. The poor teen rushed to his closet and pulled on a new hoody. He then grabbed his bag, his extra money and rushed out the front door yelling, "Bye mom, bye dad!" to his parents when he passed by the breakfast table.

But as he jumped out to their front yard, he suddenly lost his balance and fell over. His body just didn't feel right. Then, he heard the school bus' horn sound in the distance. It was moving and getting farther away by the second. Star's golden hair was waving wildly in the wind as she waved to him excitedly from the bus window without a care in the world.

From experience, he knew he wasn't going to catch the bus even if he tried.

"Great… now I'm gonna be late." Marco sighed to himself as he grabbed his bike and began pedaling as fast as he could towards school, taking every shortcut he knew no matter how risky.

It really just wasn't his day.

* * *

Somehow traffic wasn't as bad and Marco had made it with minutes to spare. Unfortunately, he had missed greeting Jackie good morning, but that was the least of his concerns now. Upon securing his bike to the bike stand, he began walking quickly towards his locker, hoping nothing else would go too wrong today.

Though, knowing his luck and the fact that he lived with a magical princess from another dimension, he wasn't really counting on it.

He began to wonder why Star hadn't woken him up. She usually did. "Maybe she woke up late too?" He thought to himself. He was sure when he said not to wake him up, she had understood it as not during the night. Maybe he had to go over it with her again. After all, she did come from another world and still had to work out the kinks of her earth culture.

"Hey don't point!" a female voice yelled out from beside Marco. It was a girl, quickly pulling down her friend's hand and putting on a wide awkward smile when they saw him looking.

"Was she pointing at me?" Marco muttered to himself.

That was when he began to notice all the whispers around him. Everyone was looking his way and even pointing at his direction. He turned around to see the same and no one else was near him. It caused him to sigh deeply. He knew he didn't get a chance to fix up, but he didn't look that bad did he? Or maybe it was the fact he wasn't with Star today or that he was uncharacteristically late. Still, it wouldn't warrant this sort of attention.

Whatever it was, he didn't want any more of it.

"Hey lookin good!" One of the boys he barely knew greeted him with a wink.

"Okay weird…" Marco thought, but brushed it off as he merely walked past him. It wasn't like he wasn't made fun of before.

Then he passed by Justin, whose had eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. His freaky stare and goofy smile stayed glued to Marco till he passed the corner. It gave Marco the chills.

"Ugh, I really have to fix myself in the washroom." Marco said to himself, coughing as he did. "My voice sounds weird too, maybe I'm sick." Considering he had been lacking in sleep the past few days, it seemed totally plausible.

After a few more weird encounters, he finally made it to his locker, pulling out some of the things he might need for today including his handy dandy grooming kit. He really needed to fix himself up. His lifelong crush, the beautiful Jackie Lynn Thomas was in his class after all.

"Good morning sleepyhead!" Star greeted, popping up beside his locker.

"Morning Star… glad you're still as bright as ever." He greeted back lazily.

"My day's not turning out so good and I think there's something wrong with my throat. I sound really weird..." Marco added, closing his locker door just to see the magical princess wearing a familiar mischievous smile. "Okay, what's with the weird look?" Marco raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"I don't know what you're talking about Marcooooo!" Star sang much too happily making Marco narrow his eyes at her. Whatever was happening today, she definitely had something to do with it.

Marco dragged his hand down his face. "Well, if you won't tell me, I'll find out anyway. Too bad for you, I have my handy dandy grooming kit to fix myself up! So whatever your plan is, I'm one step ahead of you princess!" Marco did a small victory dance, shaking his booty as he walked his way to the boy's washroom. Slamming it down hard before disappearing behind it.

After Marco had left, nothing could be heard in the hallway other than the idle chatter of the students and the princess' futile attempts to prevent herself from squealing in delight.

Star couldn't help but feel excited as her grin reached all the way to her ears. She had expected Marco to have figured it out by now, but this was so much better. Everything was going sooooo smoothly. Although she did feel a **little** guilty, she told herself she'd undo the spell as soon as Marco said he was sorry.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

Many high pitched screams of panicked boys were heard rushing out of the men's washroom as they scrambled as far away as possible. Each of them had their own terrified and panicked look in their eyes as they tripped and stumbled out as if they had seen a monster come out from the toilet.

Star's job was done. Marco would soon be sorry. In three, two one…

" **STAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!** " A very angry voice cried out, sending every bird around the campus flying away in fright.

Marco Diaz came out of the washroom with unbridled rage in his eyes as he marched towards his best friend, who just continued to smile from ear to ear.

Her masterpiece was staring her down. Princess Marco Diaz had come back to life. Except this time, it wasn't just a dress.

* * *

After Marco was done screaming his lungs out repeatedly like a crazy person, cursing Spanish and somehow mixing it with laughter from the insanity of the situation, Star had _convinced_ him into acting the part, lest they _accidentally_ reveal to everyone, including Jackie who he really was and ruin his life forever. So Marco begrudgingly dragged himself to his classroom, pulling his hoody over his head and pulling the strings at the side so only his eyes could be seen. Maybe if he wore it like this all day, no one would notice.

His mind could not comprehend what had happened to his body. It didn't even want to know the details despite the horrible reality continuing to plague his mind. It was like he was trying to swim out of a maelstrom, sucking him into depths of craziness he never even knew existed.

Marco Diaz was defeated…

The poor boy buried his face into his table, hoping nobody would talk to him and before anyone could ask what was up with him or why his clothes were so baggy today, Ms. Skullnick had walked into the room, coffee in one hand and her bag in the other.

After dropping her things onto her desk, she pulled out some papers and began pacing in front of the class.

"Good morning class, today we're going to review your quizzes from yesterday. As usual, most of you didn't do so well save for a few like Mr. Diaz." Ms. Skullnick gestured to Marco, making him shrink in his seat. Nobody had seemed to notice yet, thanks to his hoody.

"Mr. Diaz…" Ms. Skullnick tapped impatiently on her table.

"Great last thing I need, more attention." Marco murmured to himself, hating how girly his voice sounded now.

"Mr. Diaz, being an A student doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want. Now pull down the hood of your hoodie so we can begin checking papers."

"Great… just great… I'm gonna get you back for this Star." Marco took a deep breath, maybe two or three. Did he have any other choices? Well, he could run for it and just make it up in detention. That would help with his safe kid record. But what would he do after that? Star seemed to be determined to keep him like this till she got what she wanted. He didn't even know what he did and she wouldn't tell him.

"Mr. Diaz… we're waiting." Ms. Skullnick repeated, getting annoyed and tapping her foot.

The class started to murmur and Star looked at Marco with her eyes full of wonder and expectation. Her greatest masterpiece was about to be unveiled.

Then he did it.

Gasps filled the room as he pulled his hoodie off his head. His soft wavy brunette hair tumbled down gently onto his back and shoulders. His deep chocolate brown eyes looked worried, but still enamoured anyone who looked at them. His small luscious lips curved into a nervous smile. His cheeks, though tanned, held a light pink blush. All of it was complimented by the cute little mole beneath his right eye.

The room fell silent, save for the sounds of a few cameras and Marco's little bit of man pride shattering.

"Well this is a surprise…" said Ms. Skullnick, her eyes still wide with surprise at the beautiful young woman in front of her. She was just as enchanting as Star, except that she had a different sense of grace to her.

"Ummm… and you are?" Ms. Skullnick asked after she had shaken herself out of her reverie. She began looking at her clipboard to see if she missed any notes or announcements.

Star immediately dragged Marco to the front of the class, despite his very cold glare. "Hey everyone, this is Marco's cousin! Her name's… ummmm… Marcia? Yeah, Marcia Diaz! And she's in an exchange student program with Marco!"

"Ummmm… Hi?" Marco greeted timidly, waving his hands just a little, causing the boys in the class to cheer. This was getting really weird, really fast.

"I didn't get any notice of an exchange student coming…" Ms. Skullnick looked through her clipboard again.

"Don't sweat the small details… and anyway, Marco's half way to umm… Mexico by now." Star shined her brightest smile at the troll teacher, hoping she'd buy her story.

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. Ms. Diaz, you can check your cousin's paper. I hope you're just as smart as he is."

Careful not to make eye contact with anyone, Marco sat back down, sinking back into his seat after he had taken his paper. Class just started and he was already more exhausted than he had ever been. He prayed to God in his head. Just one thing, just one thing to go his way today. That was all he wanted now.

That was when he received a gentle tap on his shoulder. Upon turning his head, he saw the light blonde hair and seafoam green eyes he had always admired from afar. It was Jackie Lynn Thomas. God had answered his prayer.

His cheeks flushed at the sight of her smiling at him. She was talking to him, on her own without anyone asking her to. Today was a good day. "God, whatever bad things I said about today, I'm taking them back!"

"Hi Marcia, I'm Jackie. Your cousin and I are friends." Jackie leaned over to get closer to him.

"Um… h-hi Jackie." Yup, he was still nervous and getting butterflies around Jackie even if he was a girl right now.

"Hey, no need to be nervous. You're just like Marco, he's kinda nervous a lot and stuff." She chuckled jokingly.

"O-oh…" Marco felt his heart sink. So that's what Jackie thought of him.

"He's pretty cool though." Jackie added, putting a finger to her lips.

Marco's face lit up. "R-really? You think I'm… I mean Marco's cool?"

"Yeah, he's pretty cool. I mean I thought he was kinda quiet but he's really cute, smart and he fights monsters and stuff you know? Also he never gives up on things no matter how hard. I think that's pretty amazing."

Marco felt his blush deepen at Jackie's words. Maybe being a girl for a little while wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Hey, you and Star wanna hang out with me later during lunch and after class?" Jackie asked quietly. "I can show you around."

Marco could swear his heart had jumped up into his throat. His face was beet red now and he knew it.

"S-sure… that'd be nice Jackie." He replied, careful not to fumble his words.

"Awesome!" She replied back, giving him a thumbs up.

"Ms. Diaz, since you're so talkative there, why don't you show us how to properly solve the next problem." Ms. Skullnick tapped the board with her troll fingers to call his attention.

He immediately stood up and approached the board without any hesitation. It wasn't a problem at all. He had a "date" with Jackie Lynn Thomas and he could get to know her and be his own personal wingman. Whatever her intentions, he definitely had to thank Star for this now.

* * *

A few hours later.

The bell rang across the school, bringing Marco back to reality. He had been too busy talking to Jackie whenever he could, to really pay attention to class. It was like a dream come true, but now it was finally lunch time and he'd get one whole hour with his crush.

He almost forgot how awkward it was to be a girl.

As people began to get noisy and fix up, Marco started to grab his pens and notebooks, placing his things back in his backpack when he encountered another little problem, that Marco Diaz would never have to deal with.

…TEENAGE BOYS…

A familiar figure wearing an orange collared shirt and jeans approached him.

"Hi I'm Justin, quarterback and the coolest guy in school." He greeted in a creepy suave voice while flexing his arm, to show off his muscles.

"Ugh… seriously?" Marco thought to himself. This was way weird and not something a perfectly healthy teenage boy should be dealing with, except he wasn't a teenage boy right now.

"So Marcia right? You wanna maybe grab lunch with me? And then I can show you around, help you get used to the place."

Marco rolled his eyes. Seriously, would this kind of talk work on anyone?

"Sorry, but I'm having lunch with Jackie and Star. They're showing me around too." Marco replied, hoping it would get him off his back because Jackie was almost done fixing her things as well.

"Well, I can show you around town. Show you where the good burritos are. Just the two of us?" Justin wrapped his arm around Marco's shoulders and he felt a chill run down his spine. This was so wrong to him. Bros putting their arms around each other's shoulders was cool, but this was way beyond that. He could feel him pulling their bodies too close together and he had no intention of feeling Justin Jr. rub against him in any way.

"Sorry, no. Not interested." Marco replied, getting annoyed. Why couldn't Justin get the picture?

"Come on. It'll be fun babe." Justin continued to be persistent.

That was when Marco couldn't take it anymore. Something in him just snapped and he couldn't stop it. He shoved Justin's arm off his shoulders and pushed him away with one quick strike to the chest. Everyone in the room stared, but Marco just crossed his arms and stared Justin down. Everyone was coming to see what was happening, but Marco didn't care at all.

"Okay, firstly personal space... It isn't right to just put your hands or arm or touch someone be it a girl or a boy especially if you don't know them." Marco growled out, his voice hot and seething.

Justin stepped back on instinct, hearing the anger in Marco's voice.

"Secondly, lose the creepy James Bond voice. It just doesn't work... If a girl says she's not interested, just respect her. She's not something to win over. You just have to ask them out honestly and if she says yes, then good. If she says no, then get the picture and be a gentleman about it!" He was making a scene and he knew it, but his emotions were getting the better of him and he couldn't help it.

"Thirdly, no that does not mean you get to ask me out again! And just because you're quarterback doesn't automatically mean you're the coolest guy in school. It also doesn't mean you get to walk around waving around your big ego or call girls sexy or hotness or babe! People should be judged by who they are not what they look like or what their titles say! Also while we're at it, just because I'm part Mexican, doesn't automatically mean I like burritos and tacos and whatever! I do like them, but that's being racist!"

The entire room fell silent. Even Ms. Skullnick who hadn't left the room was speechless at Marco's uncharacteristic outburst.

Cold sweat began to build up on his back...

"Okay, maybe that was a bit too much…" Marco thought to himself when his emotions suddenly died down. Marco Diaz didn't get to talk like that without repercussions and neither would Marcia Diaz. He was definitely going to get detention.

"Goodbye lunch with Jackie…" Marco thought sadly.

Then he heard one sharp sound, followed by another and another. The next thing he knew it was all around him. The class was applauding him and cheering wildly. Even Ms. Skullnick was joining in, wiping a proud tear from her eye.

"You go girl!" Janna screamed, climbing onto her desk. "Stick it to the man!"

"Goooo Marco, I mean, go Marcia! Girl power!" Star joined in, half-jokingly.

"I think I'm going to change my name to Marciafan1!" Starfan13 screamed out.

The cheering got louder and louder, but before Marco could feel proud of his achievement, he saw Justin, looking really alone and ashamed. Well… he was still Marco Diaz, misunderstood bad boy, but all around nice guy and his conscience wouldn't let him live without trying to fix this.

Ignoring all the clapping, he began to walk towards Justin who had been pushed to the back of the room. Everyone stepped aside to let him pass, quieting down as he did. He stood in front of the poor boy and looked Justin straight in the eyes. He knew that he had gotten carried away.

"Hey… I'm sorry I started shouting at you and I'm sorry for hurting your feelings. But seriously, you don't need to act like Justin the quarterback to get a date. Just act like Justin. I'm sure you're a pretty okay guy and you'll find the right girl out there for you someday. Just… no more acting like a douche and just ask honestly. It'll work better, I swear."

Marco knew he was talking big here because he had never asked a girl out, but that was what he believed in even if he couldn't act on it himself.

"A-anyway, gotta go." Marco muttered as he suddenly felt awkward with all the stares directed at him. Justin seemed to be feeling better and had this goofy smile plastered on his face again.

It was really time to go and so, before anyone could make another noise, Marco had grabbed Star and Jackie and sped out of the classroom. He really didn't need any more attention.

"…"

"…"

"..."

"Marcia Diaz rules!" Justin cheered, making the class go crazy again. In just a day, Marcia Diaz had become the popular new kid who everyone wanted to get to know.

* * *

Just like any regular school day, the cafeteria was once again packed and noisy with all the students getting in line and sitting with their friends. The only different thing about today was the new exchange student who was rumored to be breathtakingly beautiful as well as a pretty great person and everyone wanted a chance to even just look at her.

Oh yeah, there was also the absence of Marco Diaz from Star Butterfly's side, but Marcia Diaz was the hot topic of the day.

"That was pretty cool what you did in there. I still can't get over it." Jackie commented as she, Star and Marco waited in line at the cafeteria, ignoring all the stares they were getting.

"R-really?" Marco stammered, blushing at Jackie's words.

"Yeah. It was cool enough that you made a point about treating girls and people right, but that you had the guts to say sorry after. That says a lot about a person."

Marco chuckled shyly. "I guess it does?"

"Yeah **Marcia** …" Star chimed in, putting a strange emphasis on the name. "I know that if I knew a guy who thought like that, I'd totally go out with him."

"Yeah, same here." Jackie agreed with a grin.

Marco felt his heart squirm in delight. "They both just said they'd really like to go out with a guy like that. I'm a guy like that! W-wait both of them? I mean Jackie! Jackie!" Marco corrected his thoughts and berated himself for stepping out of line and allowing Star to mess with him.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"W-well, Marco's like that. Our family teaches us to respect all kinds of people and we've always been really alike." It felt weird talking in the third person and even weirder being his own wingman, but this was an opportunity too good to pass up.

"Really? Well, I've never really gotten the chance to talk Marco that much you know and he's never really tried to ask me out or anything." Jackie replied, as her tray was filled up. "He's a pretty awesome guy though, handsome too."

Marco felt his jaw drop.

"JACKIE LYNN THOMAS JUST CALLED ME HANDSOME!" Marco felt like he could die happy right there, probably getting his food all over his corpse in the process. His heart was pounding so hard he swore everyone could probably hear it.

In the meantime, Jackie had picked up a dessert and turned to face her friends.

"…Hey Star? Why haven't you and Marco gone out?" Jackie asked out of nowhere, her voice not betraying her chill character.

"W-what?!" Star asked, coughing out the dessert she was tasting. Marco on the other hand had spat out his drink on the cafeteria lady who was not pleased at all.

"Well, you guys always hang out and get along so well. Everyone just kinda assumed you'd get together at some point." Jackie replied, probing her further.

"This day has had too many ups and downs…" Marco thought to himself as he wiped his mouth.

"Well, we're… we're just besties." Star flashed the biggest smile she could muster at Jackie. "He's like a brother to me. I just don't see him that way you know?"

Somehow, those words fell on Marco's ears like a death sentence. He always knew Star never saw him in a romantic way and he had always liked Jackie. So why did he feel this way? Why did his heart feel so damn heavy? The world seemed to narrow as all he could focus on was his food going dull in color and the sounds of the school becoming distant.

"Oh, that's news. Cuz everyone kinda backs off from Marco because they think he's basically yours." Jackie explained.

"W-what?! Why would they... E-everyone?" Star raised her eyebrow at Jackie, wanting to know who these other girls were.

"Well, I don't know everyone, everyone, but from our class there's Janna, Sabrina, Tiffany and secretly, even Britney likes Marco. He's basically like the most crushed on guy around, but he just doesn't ever get close to anyone that much."

"Well… he is the coolest guy I know." Star mumbled just loud enough to hear. She began to play with her pasta as soon as they sat down on one of the cafeteria tables. "So you'd go out with him if you could?"

"W-well yeah." Jackie admitted, a slight blush rushing up her cheeks. "If he'd ask me to go out with him… but what are the chances of that happening right?" Jackie chuckled at the end of her sentence, trying to laugh it off.

Star began fiddling with her vegetables now. "I dunno, I think your chances are pretty good Jackie… Don't you think so Marcia? …Marcia?"

The half latino teen in a girl's body had been looking down at his food tray without moving since they sat down. He wasn't really paying attention anymore. In fact he didn't hear Jackie admit she'd go out with him if he asked.

"Marcia?" Star shook him by the shoulder, worry in her eyes.

"Huh? Sorry kinda nodded oFf there. I guess I'm really hungry." He chuckled, hoping they wouldn't question him. He really didn't feel like talking about it especially since he didn't understand it that well. Or at least, that's what he kept telling himself.

"Well, let's dig in then!" Jackie replied, making Marco start eating as well.

They all began to eat, but Star kept looking at her best friend, knowing something was very wrong. It wasn't about being turned into a girl, although she knew it must've tested his sanity in ways she could only imagine. It was something else, something deeper and very close to his heart. Sure, she was in the middle of teaching him a lesson, but it didn't mean she couldn't be worried about him.

They were best friends after all…

* * *

The rest of the day passed by quickly. The three of them talked about random things during lunch as they toured around campus. Then, they went back to class, Marco got called a few more times to answer questions and was approached by many other schoolmates when the day was done. Strangely, he just acted like he always would and people would appreciate him more for it now.

That didn't mean he didn't want to get back into his body though. It was still really weird. His clothes were baggy and he didn't have the courage to go to the bathroom yet and see how he had traded his man bits for something else. Instead he kept focusing on other things, like Janna who had been bugging him for a while.

"So… Marcie… got any dirt on Marco? Family secrets, embarrassing stories for me to use?" Janna nudged him on the shoulder, almost knocking him off his bike. She had joined him, Jackie and Star as they walked home instead of taking the bus.

"No… And what are you going to use them for?" Marco narrowed his eyes at Janna. The weird girl already had all his private information he didn't want her to get anymore blackmail information.

"Nothing, just getting to know my future husband better." Janna replied casually making Marco sweat nervously at her statement.

"F-future husband?" Marco asked, his voice cracking and nearly losing balance.

"Yeah. Janna here has had a crush on Marco since forever." Jackie explained, laughing as she did. That didn't make Marco feel better at all.

"Jackie! That's supposed to be a secret! That'll affect my street cred." Janna replied, a bit annoyed that Jackie had let it out.

"For real Janna?!" Star exclaimed. She was used to Janna flirting with Marco, but she never really thought there was anything more to it or that Marco would ever reciprocate anyway.

"…Yeah, so I kinda like him and I mess with him a lot." Janna muttered, shrugging her shoulders as if it was nothing.

Jackie laughed. "She stole his hoodie and a bunch of his other things to make a shrine in her closet! It's hilarious!"

"I shared that with you in confidence!" Janna shouted at Jackie, shaking her fist at the skateboarder.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Were you going to use black voodoo magic to make him infatuated with you?" Star asked, curiously.

"I can do that with his stuff?" Janna eyes brimmed with excitement as she grabbed Star's hands.

"Well…" Star thought for a moment, trying to recall what she could and whether or not it would be wise to tell Janna.

"No!" Marco cut in, separating the two girls. "No black voodoo magic or any kind of magic on my cousin!" He shouted, sending a small glare to both girls, but that didn't faze Janna at all. She merely smiled and placed a friendly hand oh his shoulder.

"Come on Marcie, we're all girls here. I don't bite. Unless your cousin wants me to... Just give us a little something to help us. Like what kind of girl does he like?"

"Yeah, Mar-cia!" Star chimed in with a knowing grin, nudging him with her elbow. "What kind of girl does he like-like?"

The three girls turned all their attention to the latina girl on a bike. They were all curious to what his answer would be. Well, two were curious, Star was probably just messing with him.

"What kind of girl?" He muttered underneath his breath. Now that he thought about it. What DID he like in a girl? He knew he liked Jackie, but… he didn't really know anything much about her since they never really hung out that much before. He knows she's mellow, cool, friendly, gets good grades, has a curvy figure likes to skateboard, has short light blonde hair that she never grew out and has eyes like the ocean. But what about those things did he really like?

"What DO I like?" Marco thought to himself, forgetting the world around him for a moment. It was something he had never actually thought about or questioned. This wasn't something he could study or prepare for like usual so he thought about it... hard.

His thoughts immediately went to a certain princess from another dimension. Going on adventures with her, waking up to her upbeat personality, teaching her new things, watching movies with her, trying things together with her, even a simple meal or walk around town became fun as long as it was with Star. No matter how hard he tried to think, Star was the only thought going through his head. Her crazy, lively, quirky, upbeat personality had changed his life for the better and he could no longer picture his life without her.

He stopped dead in his tracks, causing the rest of the girls to stop as well. His gaze was stuck on his bike's handle bars. His mouth opened slightly to let words come out.

"Maybe… he'd like it if a girl was really energetic and would liven things up. You know, make things exciting, fun. I think if you pushed him to do new things he'd like it even though he might be reluctant at first. Marco doesn't seem like it, but he likes adventure."

Marco felt his cheeks heat up. He couldn't look anyone in the eye, especially a certain princess. It wasn't just because he was sharing something personal about himself, but also because he was basically talking about Star, his best friend, a thought he always tried to push to the back of his mind. He hoped his answer was good and vague enough that he wouldn't be probed further.

That was when Jackie kicked up her skateboard and held it in her hands.

"Well, that isn't so hard at all. Maybe he'd like skateboarding or surfing or rock climbing or maybe even just laser tag." Jackie answered back, counting things she could teach Marco with her fingers.

"Or take him to reanimate a dead body from the morgue or summon a demon!" Janna suggested, earning another disapproving look from Marco, which went unnoticed.

"Meh, demons aren't all that. I should know. I dated one." Star commented normally, as if Marco hadn't indirectly mentioned her at all. Her cheeks, hidden by the setting sun told a different story though.

"Oh yeah, that guy who came to school that one time. He was pretty awesome with the horns and flames and all." Said Janna. "Too bad about the anger issues though."

"You have no idea..." Star replied.

The group of girls kept talking until their feet came to a stop at the next corner. Janna and Jackie lived down this street while Marco and Star were a little ways off. The sun was beginning to disappear under the horizon as the dark purple sky was colored with hints of pink and orange.

"Well this is where we're going. It was nice hanging out with you Marcia. I guess the Diaz's are pretty awesome in general." Jackie flashed a smile at Marco. "Maybe we can all hang out again tomorrow at the mall and shop or something?"

"W-well, I'll have to see first." Marco replied, still a bit awkward. He still wanted to get back to being Marco, despite how useful being Marcia was.

"Well, you know where to find us. See you guys later!" Janna and Jackie waved goodbye to the best friends and went on their way home. The two best friends watched as the two girls became dots in the distance. When they were clearly out of earshot, Marco or rather Marcia, turned to Star with a rather serious look on his face.

"Staaaar…"

"Yesssss Mar-cia!" She sang innocently.

"What's this all about?!" He raised his voice, gesturing to his very long wavy hair, baggy clothes and general lack of masculine features.

"Well, I think you look great! I mean did you see all the looks you got today? You might need a skirt and a smaller hoodie though." She commented, not answering his question.

"Star!" He was breathing hard.

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a bunch." She replied calmly, putting her arm around his shoulders. "I'm just teaching you a lesson about how tough being a girl is. Since you think it's soooo easy."

"What! When did I say that?!" He screamed, exasperated.

"Last night before you went to bed. You said…

 _You're a wild, free spirited princess and you don't have the same discipline and self-control that I have. You know, karate and strong-willed and all._

Star repeated his words in her best Marco voice. Just repeating it made her anger flare up again.

Marco on the other hand could only vaguely remember due to his sleep deprivation. But he knew it was wrong of him to talk about her or her period that way. It just wasn't something a person should do.

The seriousness of his face faded away slightly.

"…Look Star, I was really sleepy and tired. I wasn't in my right mind." He said, taking her by the hand and looking her in the eyes. "Look I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was underestimating you. I know you were going through something difficult and I shouldn't have said those things."

Just with his sincere words and his eyes staring straight at hers, making her feel as if he was staring into her soul, she felt her anger towards him begin to fade. Even as a girl, he still had the same chocolate brown eyes that made her knees weak.

"Okay Marco." She said, calling him by his real name for the first time in a while. A genuine smile crept up her lips "We'll look for the reversal spell when we get home."

"Besties for life?" Marco asked, raising his pinky to her.

"Besties for life!" She shouted, wrapping her pinky around his and shaking it vigorously.

"Great… cuz I really need to use the bathroom and I really didn't want to see my girl bits." Marco commented, pulling Star into a walk again.

"Awwwww but Marcooooo. You're so cute and popular as a girl. Maybe you should stay this way."

"No, not a chance princess cuckoo pants."

"But you got to hang out with Jackie like normal!" Star's eyes shined. She was really trying to convince him. "And you got to learn that she's actually interested in you and everyone really loved you today!"

"Yeah, as great as today has been. I think I miss being good old quiet Marco Diaz." A small chuckle escaped his mouth. "Plus, these clothes are really baggy on me, not exactly meant for Princess Marco."

"Well, if you wanted a make over, you should've just said so!" Star raised her wand high into the air, shimmering with starlight.

"Star…"

"Just messing with you Diaz! I miss my bestie as a guy too!"

The two best friends laughed all the way home, feeling more content to just be alone together than they had the rest of the day, but they'd never admit that. They were still young. They still had a lot of time to figure things out.

* * *

Sorry if this chapter's a bit wonky. My brain hasn't been very balanced recently. Meds and life and all.

After watching the recent episodes, I've come to the conclusion that I don't mind if Marco goes out with Jackie first. Both Star and Marco have a lot of room to grow and I don't mind them struggling with the changes in their friendship only to come back to each other again and again. That's how they'll grow closer and closer. Being with other people will also help them grow and they'll get together when it's time and when they're ready. Anyway, I can't picture anyone who's better for Princess Cuckoopants than her Safekid. The problem right now is Marco... honestly I think he doesn't see Star in that way at all right now or that he already convinced himself it couldn't happen long ago.

But regardless, being in love with your bestfriend is an amazing thing :) it really is the best foundation for a relationship. So I SHIP STARCO ALL THE WAY!


	4. This Skirt is Too Short

Sorry for not updating as quickly, the Just Friends episode killed me... but they're still kids. They'll probably break up with Jackie, Oscar or whoever down the line and find the one, when they're ready. Now for some greets...

Hanmac - About the demon prince of the underworld... just wait and see. You may get your wish. Mwahahahahahahaha!

SolidJJ - the thought of Janna and the others liking Princess Marco that way never crossed my mind till now. I always pegged Jackie to like girls though... so maybe it could happen? Just try and write!

The Book of Eli - Yup, Marco's a pretty awesome and decent dude. He'll probably have girl trouble if he ever gets back to being a dude.

TheOneAndOnly1993 - I agree 100%. If I was suddenly turned into the opposite gender, I'd probably freak out and keep screaming hell at whoever did it. But since this was my first SVTFOE fic... I wanted it to be light.

Cryptid1998 - This chapter will reveal Marco's fate. His horrible twisted fate.

Boss364 - I'll see how much fluff I can put in. Cuz I wasn't really thinking of this ending with Starco, but having Starco.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – This Skirt is Too Short**

Upon coming home that afternoon, Marco was greeted with a little laughter, unnerving smiles and over eager parents, who were excited to have a daughter even if it was just for a day. Despite all Marco's refusal, his parents and Star still managed to get him into several outfits like a ballgown, a traditional Mexican Tabasco dress, a Japanese school girl uniform of questionable origin and even his princess outfit, which Star had kept for reasons unknown.

After several pictures and paintings, the poor boy plopped down on his bed, feeling exhausted in more ways than one. He secretly hoped those pictures would never see the light of day and that Janna would never get his hands on them. In fact if anyone else found out about this, he'd never live it down.

"Maybe I'll just run away to Mewni, be a fighter in the arena, start a farm, introduce them to other vegetables besides corn, live the simple life." He muttered to no one in particular.

"And then we could hunt monsters for food or raise some warnicorns!" Star's energetic face popped into his room. It was a welcome sight.

"Oh hey Star, what's up?"

"Nothing much, just going up to my room to get my spell book and seeing how my favorite princess is!" She teased with a cheeky grin. "Come up when you're ready okay?" Star waved goodbye and left as quickly as she had appeared. The sounds of the floor boards above confirmed that she was already in her room.

Marco sighed.

For a while, he just lay there. Thinking about how crazy this all was. Life with Star brought color into his once bland life. Before she came, he was too concerned and anxious about things to really enjoy life, but she had managed to pull him out of his shell and every day was a gift since then. Grateful. That was the word that he used to describe his feelings for Star. Despite how she had managed once again to surprise him again with how crazy she could get, all in all, he couldn't picture his life without her anymore.

It brought a smile to his face. Rule number four of being with Star Butterfly, always remember... it's part of her charm.

"Well, better get this over and done with."He said, getting up from his bed.

Marco lifted the skirt of his many layered princess dress and gracefully glided his way to Star's room like the perfect princess that he was.

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO REVERSAL SPELL?!" Marco's voice shook the entire house, sending car alarms off all over the neighborhood.

"Eh-hehe… Ooopsie?" Star pulled the collar of her dress in nervousness as she watched her best friend freaking out... again.

"What am I gonna do? I'll be stuck like this for life! How will my parents react? Well, they probably won't mind, but how am I going to get married, have a family? No way am I marrying a guy! That's just wrong! I'm still a heterosexual guy on the inside, no matter how graceful and refined I am!"

Marco paced back and forth in front of Star, pulling at his long brown hair and gritting his teeth. At least he wasn't cursing in Spanish like last time.

"Maybe it won't be so bad Marco…" Star suggested, but immediately regretting it when she saw the look on his face.

"Won't be so bad? Won't be so bad?! Star I'm stuck as a girl! I haven't even be able to go to the freaking bathroom yet and my bladder's about to blow from the stress!" He screamed, pointing at his bladder. "I'll never be able to date… date…"

"Jackie?" Star finished for him.

"Yes, I'll never be able to date Jackie!" Marco shouted, his voice quivering strangely. He had a mad look in his eyes and honestly, it made Star back away a bit.

"Okay, okay, just please...calm down… we'll figure this out Marco. Just, go to the bathroom and close your eyes when you do your business. I'll go get Glossaryk and I'll figure this out. I promise." She tried to say as soothingly as possible.

"Ugh! Star if you weren't my best friend... I'd... I'd..." Marco yelled, his voice still full of rage, but when he saw Star's face, all he could do was stare.

They shared a few moments of silence, just staring at each other. Marco's eyebrows were furrowed deeply and Star's were curled into a look of worry. She was completely and utterly sorry for what she did. Her eyes were an amazing mix of fear, concern, remorse and honest caring.

Star carefully took Marco's hands in hers, as if afraid they would set him off and looked him gently in the eyes. Her aquamarine orbs gazing deeply into his chocolate brown ones, as if trying to tell him it was going to be okay. Her eyes had a way of doing that to him, no matter how crazy things were.

It took a few deep breaths to calm down, but Star had always come through for him before, today wasn't going to be different.

"…okay Star... Sorry I kinda lost control there."

"No Marco, don't stand up for me. I know I went too far this time... This is my mess and I promise I'm gonna fix what I Star'd up."

"You mean we're going to fix it." He replied, squeezing her hands lightly.

A knowing smile crept up their faces Star mentioned the familiar term. They were mess up twins after all. They'd get out of this together. No matter how crazy things got.

* * *

A few minutes later, after Marco gathered up the courage to do his business after a very awkward conversation with Star on how to do it and if it was different for a boy, the two along with the tiny blue man began talking about the spell.

"Star, didn't you read the fine print?" Glossaryk asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Uhhhhh… yes?" Star replied hesitantly.

"Uhuh… well the spell specifically works to teach the man to _appreciate the hardship of that time of the month_."

"So…" Star replied, trying to get the answer out of Glossaryk.

"So it won't wear off until Marco here experiences a period himself. Or manages to appreciate it enough somehow."

"But I said I'm sorry! I know a period isn't something to laugh about!" Marco shook Glossaryk hard, as if the solution would fall out of him.

"Sorry Marco, but those are the rules." The small magical man replied.

"Can't we just cast the spell again?" Star asked, hoping it would work.

"Nice try princess, but it doesn't work that way. It makes a man a woman, not just reverse someone's gender." Glossaryk shook his finger at the princess, making her pout slightly.

"Well there's gotta be something we can do. Some kind of loophole in the text." Marco began reading the spellbook, determined to get his body back to normal.

"Well… there is one other way, but I'll have to look into it for a few days first. So I need some supplies."

"What is it?! I'll try anything!" Marco shook Glossaryk again, desperation clear as day.

"Ah ah ah… supplies first!" Glossaryk demanded, slapping Marco's hands away.

Marco sighed, knowing where this was going. Grabbing the pair of dimensional scissors from Star's dresser, he cut open a hole in space and stepped through, leaving Star and the little blue man alone.

Now, Glossaryk was a very cryptic individual. Very wise and in a way, very annoying as well. In fact, most Kings disliked Glossaryk much like River and Marco did, but for the Queens, it was a different story. He was in a way, family and the Queens came to know Glossaryk much more closely, much like Moon and Star did. They knew there was always a good reason behind his annoyingly cryptic ways.

"What's the other way?" Star asked, knowing that Glossaryk was hiding something from Marco.

"Well, now that we're alone, I suppose I could tell you. Remember what your mother used to say when you were small?"

"I dunno. She said a lot of things I didn't listen to." Star replied.

Glossaryk sighed. "Star, what is the strongest force in the universe?"

"Oh oh! My wand! I'm right, right?" Star jumped up and down excitedly, making Glossaryk sigh again.

"No Star, try and remember what your mother said was the strongest force in the universe."

"The strongest force… Hmmm…" Star put a finger to her chin and raised her eyes to the ceiling, trying as hard as she could to remember her mother's words.

* * *

She was just a small child at that time and she had been scared by a monster attack attempting to steal Moon's wand earlier that day. She couldn't sleep and was clinging tightly onto her mother in Mewni's bright moonlight.

"You're sure those monsters can't get in the castle?" Little Star asked her mother, tears staining her cheeks.

"No Star, those monsters can't get inside and they'll never be able to hurt you"

"Really?"

"Yes, dear."

"Really, really?"

"Yes Star."

"But why?"

"It's because I've got the most powerful force in the universe right here."

"Your wand?"

"No dear." Moon put her finger on her daugther's nose. "It's Love. Love is stronger than any force or any magic in the universe." Moon explained.

"That's silly. Kisses can't beat those monsters."

"I suppose they can't" Moon laughed quietly. "But you'd be surprised what love can do. It can make a weak man into a hero. It can turn an enemy into a friend. It can move an entire nation. It can break even the strongest spell with just a kiss."

"If you say so mommy…" Star yawned, feeling her eyelids grow heavy as Moon began humming her favorite lullaby, finally sending her into peaceful sleep.

* * *

"A kiss… True love's kiss." Star uttered in such a whisper that it was barely audible. Glossaryk nodded to the princess.

Just then, the sound of ripping fabric broke the silence of the room. The edges of scissors appeared out of nowhere, opening a portal once again in Star's room. It was Marco carrying a bag of groceries that he dropped in front of the spellbook.

"Here, I got all the flavors of pudding you like. Banana, chocolate, strawberry, peanut butter… all of it. Now can you please get to work on the spell?" Marco pleaded, getting on his knees.

"Okay, we're in business then!" With a snap of his fingers, the bag of pudding disappeared into the book. "I'll get back to you in two to three days, maybe a week. Ciao!"

Glossaryk jumped back into the book, which then flew back onto Star's work table where the sounds of the little blue man smacking his lips together could be heard.

Marco then turned to Star, who had not said a word since he arrived. She had been sitting down on the floor, looking at her feet as if they were the most interesting things in the world. She was thinking, not a common sight, but Marco knew it when he saw it.

"Star?" He called lightly, not wanting to bother her.

"Huh? What is it Marco?" His voice had pulled her out of her thoughts. She could think about kissing and Marco later. "Besides we all know who Marco's true love is…" She told herself, feeling the thought tugging painfully at her heartstrings.

"Uhhhh, nothing." He brushed it off. Whatever it was, Star would tell him what she was thinking about in time. "I just wanted to ask if you could help me with my clothes tomorrow. Can't be wearing baggy clothes again."

It was an excuse, but he knew it would cheer Star up.

"Sure sure!" She jumped up from the floor, putting her smile back on. "We'll give Marcia Diaz a makeover that'll make all the boys drop dead!"

"Can we not? I'm really just happy with my hoody and pants. You know, easy to fight in?" It was a good reason, but really, he just didn't want to attract any more attention from boys.

"Don't worry Wildman! Just leave it to Star Butterfly!" Her eyes seemed to give of their own light at the thought of a makeover.

Marco let out a sigh and smiled as he stared at the princess. Leaving out that this was Star's fault in the first place, he didn't know how he would get through this without her. In fact, he almost couldn't remember what life was like before her anymore. She literally brought rainbow fists and sunshine into his everyday life.

So with very tiny graceful steps, he followed the ever smiling princess back into his room so she could do something about his clothes for the next few days.

* * *

"Good morning Marcooooo!"

The princess had been hopping on his bed for the last half minute in an attempt to wake him up. He groaned.

"Star… I had the strangest dream that you turned me into a girl yesterday." He muttered into his pillows. He remembered all the ups and downs, all the hassles and advantages of being Marcia Diaz, not being able to use the bathroom freely. It was really weird.

He felt the bouncing of his bed come to a halt making him sit up to wonder why. Long brown hair fell in front of his eyes as if becoming prison bars to his horrible reality. He really didn't want to go through a second day like this. He lay back down on his bed and covered himself in his blankets.

"Maybe if I sleep again it'll all go away…" He grumbled.

As if to say no, Star pulled off his sheets and blasted him into the bathroom where the soap, shampoo, towels, hair dryers and his clothes were floating in the air surrounded by a magical glow.

"You're welcome Marcooooo!" She sang into the bathroom door. Slamming it shut as the enchanted objects had their way with her best friend. It made him feel like he was put through a carwash, a very invasive carwash.

In the meantime, Star had gone ahead to eat breakfast. After greeting Mr and Mrs. Diaz good morning, she grabbed her favorite cereal and sat at the table.

"Oh the humanity!" She head Marco scream. "For the love of all that's good and holy! Star make it stop!"

"Just let it do its thing Marco!" She shouted back at him before going back to her cereal. Lifting up the cereal box, she poured in the exact amount of cereal like Marco told her to and put the exact amount of milk as well. It made it taste better. Sometimes it paid to listen to Marco.

As she began chewing her cereal and wondering what kind of treasure this cereal box would give her once she finished the puzzle at the back, she heard the bathroom door open and the hesitant creaking of the floorboards. After a few quiet minutes, they heard a familiar pattern of footsteps come down the stairs.

Down the stairs she came, like a princess from a fairy tale. With her wavy chestnut hair tied into a pony tail, a familiar red hoody made to fit her size, a sleek black skirt that ended just above her knees and smaller light brown sneakers, Marcia Diaz had come to grace the breakfast table.

"Ugh, this skirt is so short, can't I just wear pants?" Marco started pulling at his skirt, as if it would make it longer.

"But Marco, it looks so good on you." Star teased, admiring her handiwork.

"Si Marco, my daughter is beautiful!" His dad gave him a thumbs up and his wide grinned smile.

"I can't believe you two are fine with this." He began pouring his own cereal, his mind boggled at how his parents weren't worried at all.

"Well, we always wondered what it would be like to have a daughter, but now we don't have to!" Mrs. Diaz happily chimed in, sitting down at the table to drink coffee.

He let out a dejected sigh as he began eating his cereal.

"Look at it this way Marco, at least now you know you're attractive as a girl and a boy!" Star exclaimed happily, before putting her hands to her mouth, realizing that she just may have just said she thought Marco looked handsome.

"W-what?" Marco stuttered, not sure if he had heard his roommate correctly.

"N-nothing!" Star replied in a higher pitch than usual, carrying her bowl to the sink and chugging down the rest of her cereal quickly.

In reply, Marco merely looked down at his own and began eating faster. Concentrating on the colors bobbing in the milk rather than on Star's words.

Mr and Mrs Diaz shared a knowing look at what was playing out before them and smiled. They both had it bad. It was just a matter of time before they had a daughter for real.

* * *

The rest of the day went by too eventfully for Marco's taste. Even upon getting on the school bus, he was already bombarded with questions about _himself_ or sometimes even questions about his fake cousin, Marco Diaz, who now because of the lack of privacy of a school cafeteria, was known far and wide to be available again. Apparently, his current status as monster fighter and Star's adventure partner only served to make him more appealing. Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without having to politely reject a few love confessions, including Ferguson and Alfonzo, which he found to be just a little bit more awkward than the rest.

Star as well, had a bit more attention than usual. People who found out that she and Marco had no feelings for each other whatsoever rejoiced and took their chances with Star, much to Marco's annoyance. Star had been asked out or given love letters as well throughout the day. All of which she declined gracefully by saying she wasn't looking for a boy right now. It was like a personal Valentine 's Day for the two princesses of Echo Creek, but like perfect ice queens, they turned down every single one.

"I never knew you were this popular Star." Marco said, his voice a bit hoarse from talking to people all day, especially when they were dismissed. They were suddenly cornered by a crowd the moment they stepped out the classroom.

"Well, same goes for you Diaz. I didn't know you'd be so popular… Or that non-princess Marco was so popular as well. I mean, look at all the girls that think you're cute and want to know about you?" Star blurted out, a bit strained by the thought. Several times, Star had been asked by girls to set them up with Marco and several times, she had to deal with the confusing feeling in her chest as she basically asked them to do it themselves.

But as she looked at her best friend who was sitting lazily on the school steps, obviously tired from the day and wanting nothing more to do with admirers, she felt a strange peace wash over her.

"I thought you'd like being popular, you know, it's kinda like being a bad boy, everyone likes you… Jackie likes you." Star's voice trailed off a bit as she said those last words.

"Well I guess… I didn't know what I wanted." Marco replied looking at the sun in the distance. He had meant that in more ways than one. True, he always wanted to be the bad boy that everyone admired or liked, but now he thought if he was just _bad_ enough for the people that mattered, that would be enough for him. And about Jackie Lynn Thomas, the more he hung out with her, the more his image of her on a pedestal faded. It wasn't that she wasn't amazing or fun or beautiful. She just became more real and whether Marco admitted to himself or not, his feelings for her were changing.

His eyes stared far into the horizon where the sun colored the sky orange and painted the clouds in faint shades pinks and purples.

"I guess, maybe being regular old me isn't that bad you know." Marco turned his head to look at Star. "I mean, we don't need to be popular. We get to go to crazy places and have lots of fun all the time. We don't even need to leave home to have fun!"

Star didn't know exactly what Marco was getting at, but somehow she understood and it made her smile from ear to ear. She jumped up and pumped her fist up into the air!

"Diaz and Butterfly! Wild, weird and super-duper fun! We wave that creep flag proud!" Star cheered, infecting Marco with her energy as he jumped up as well.

"We don't need no man! Or… um… woman! We have fun all by ourselves!" Marco declared proudly to the world, puffing his chest out. "And there ain't nothing anyone can do about it!"

The two best friends, shared a serious look, posing dramatically in battle stances as if an explosion was about to go off behind them, but they couldn't hold it. Seeing each other get caught up in the other's excitement and posing like they were the only ones in the world, was too weird to pass.

Their laughter filled the air like an enchanting melody until their friends arrived to hang out with them.

* * *

The group of four girls, or three girls and one boy in a girl's body, had collectively decided to hang out at a nearby café and have some dessert and maybe nachos, anything with cheese, as Marco demanded. As the four girls sat around their table, covered with several cakes and a quesadilla smothered with extra cheese, their excited chattering began to fill the air.

"Nice to see you've got new clothes on Marci." Jackie commented. "Yesterday, it was like you were wearing Marco's clothes."

Marco laughed a bit. "Yeah… I was kinda in a hurry and grabbed his clothes by mistake, but hey, we both make the hoodie look work!"

There was no more stuttering or blushing. Marco was definitely getting used to being around Jackie Lynn Thomas. Something he was very proud of.

"They think hoodies are good for ANY weather." Star added in with a snicker. "In summer, I have to deal with Marco and his sweaty pits!"

"Staaaaaar! I don't have… I mean Marco doesn't have sweaty pits!" Marco retorted, nearly revealing himself or at least becoming very suspicious.

But no one even picked it up.

"Whoa… protective of your cousin much." Janna commented, wearing her signature grin that spoke nothing, but trouble. "Maybe you've got a crush on him too."

Star broke into laughter, slamming her fists on the table while Marco just glared at Janna. "Of course not! That would be weird!"

"Chill girl!" Janna put an arm around Marco. "Besides, we've seen you two reject almost every boy on campus… So, I think I know what kind of guy Marci likes…"

Star was bouncing in her seat from excitement and Jackie leaned forward to show her interest. Of course Star knew Marcia was Marco, but that was entirely part of the fun.

"Marcia Diaz, probably likes… a troublemaker with a heart of gold!" Janna concluded, forming a heart with her hands and fitting it to Marco's face. In the meantime, Star was having trouble keeping her laughter in. This was just too rich to pass up. She swore, her lungs were trying to break free from her ribs.

"Funny… I would've pegged her to like badboys." Jackie said as she began to stroke Star's back, thinking she was having a coughing fit. Marco's eyes narrowed at Star, knowing very well what she was going through.

"No, no… Maybe she'd go for a badboy a few times, but in the end, she just wants someone to show her how to have fun, break some rules, and still be a good guy at heart! After all, she's all about values and whatnot." Janna explained while taking a large chunk of her cake.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense… you mean like… if Star was a guy." Jackie's words went by so casually that Star and Marco almost missed it.

Marco imagined a short haired blonde male with hearts on his cheeks, prancing about school with a magic wand and rainbows all around. Being too intrusive and energetic than what was "normal" for a male their age. It was his turn to keep his ribs from bursting.

Marcia Diaz burst out laughing, nearly choking on her cheesy delights.

Star on the other hand did not find it funny. "What's wrong with me as a guy? I'd be an awesome guy!"

"S-sorry Star." Marco apologized while still snickering. "It's just that, seeing a guy prancing about with bright colors and a magic wand and you know, being all Star… Not exactly the first person I'd go out with."

On many different levels, that had hit Star way too close to home. She was a bit taken aback by Marco's statement, but she wasn't going to let him get away with it just like that.

"Oh yeah Diaz… well I bet you'd like it if I flirted with you." Star teased, flipping her hair and giving him princess eyes, complete with beautiful eye lashes. She also blew him a kiss for added effect.

Marco nearly fell out of his seat, but had luckily held onto the table. He could feel his heart begin to race like crazy, like his body needed more blood than it could ever provide. It was so much for his little heart to take that he swore he could feel the table shaking.

No, scratch that, he could feel it in the chair too, and the floor.

"What the!?" Star and Marco exclaimed together as they saw familiar runes burning into the floor.

"Hey!" They said together again.

"Stop that! Ugh… this is not the right time!" The two said simultaneously for the third time.

While they were busy being troubled by the unnatural timing of their speech, a bright red flame appeared before them and demonic speech could be heard coming from everywhere. The flame grew bigger and bigger until they could see a familiar figure inside, one that made Star groan in annoyance.

She could recognize that silhouette anywhere.

The flames died and much to Star's dismay, the figure landed beside her. Star groaned again. The prince of the Underworld had decided to grace them with his presence.

"Star!" Tom yelled, grabbing the princess by the shoulders.

"What is it now Tom…" Star replied lazily, not wanting her crazy ex to ruin her day again.

"Where's Marco! He's not at home, he isn't answering his phone and I've been looking for him everywhere!" Tom said aloud, his voice frantic.

At this point Star had pushed the demon's arms off her. "He's off busy with some family stuff. I'll just pass your message to him." Star just wanted Tom out of their hair, but as fate would have it, ever since she pushed Marco to hang out with Tom, the demon prince had been hanging around her safe kid much more than she was comfortable with.

…wait, her safe kid?

"Well, just tell him that I just learned from Mackie Hand, that apparently he had an unreleased movie and it's buried with him in his grave!" Tom said excitedly like geek.

While Star merely waved Tom's words off with a twirl of her wand and Janna was delighted with the idea of exhuming a celebrity, to Marco, those words were like an angel's choir gracing his ears. He couldn't help but stand up in surprise.

"M-Mackie Hand has a secret movie!?" Marco shouted out loud, addressing the demon in the room.

"Yeah, why are you a fan t-t-t-toooooo…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Tom could do nothing but but stare with all three of his eyes.

Tom, the prince of the underworld, torturer of souls, heir to the undying flames of wrath was stuttering uncontrollably at the site that captured his three demonic eyes. In front of him was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. Her silky chestnut hair tied neatly into a pony tail, her shining auburn eyes deeper than the blackness in his heart, her lips more luscious and enchanting than the most alluring succubus. Her body, though covered almost entirely by her hoody, was toned and just sufficiently built, showing that she was no lazy princess. And her smile… her smile accentuated by that cute little mole, was enough to send any man to the hospital from heart failure… Or at least, those were the demon prince's thoughts as he stood there speechless for a good ten seconds.

"H-h-hey there! I-I'm T-t-tom! Star's ex!" Tom was having trouble with his tongue as well as his cheeks which were bright red. He extended his hand excitedly across the table to Marco, who merely froze at the gesture.

Star and Marco shared a look of disbelief, not knowing what to make of the situation and not believing this could be happening. Sure it could've been funny, but this was Tom! Star's ex, Marco's best frenemy, guy with anger issues, prince of the underworld… Never had Marco wanted Star to stop time again more than now. This was just too much and too troublesome to deal with, but they had to…

"Tom… don't bother my friend. You left your message, now go away!" Star poked him with her wand, hoping to make him back off.

"Whoa whoa, I'm not bothering anyone! See, I've been anger free for 83 days! I've even got my bunny! Do you want to pet my bunny?!" Tom shoved the little furball in Marco's face like a nervous teen.

"Uh… no thanks?" Marco replied, looking to Star for help, but she merely shrugged her shoulders and showed a face that said "I don't know how to get rid of him!" Marco countered with a look that said "What am I supposed to do?!", but got nothing workable from the Princess.

He had to deal with this on his own.

"Uhhh… Tom right?" Marco scratched his head, wracking his brain for a way diffuse the situation carefully.

"Y-y-yes!" Tom replied immediately, jumping to Marco's side and making the bunny disappear in a burst of flame.

"Well, my friends and I here were just enjoying our time chatting here and... I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but we'd really appreciate it if we could continue our talk in peace." Marco said as softly as possibly while giving his best smile.

"Uhuh!" Tom nodded, smiling back.

"Just us." Marco added.

"Anything you want!" Tom replied, smiling goofily.

"…Without you." Marco strained himself into a smile, hoping Tom would get it already.

"…" Tom fell silent for a while. His eyes softened. Then his face dropped into a frown. Then his shoulders fell. For a demon, he really was too much of a drama queen.

"…Tom" Marco called, feeling sorry for him.

"No. No… It's okay, I get it. I'm being a dork, bothering you all and making a fool of myself just because you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and I really want to get to know you." Tom said out loud as if talking to the world. It made several people in the shop coo and "awwwwww".

"Uhhhh…" Was all Marco could say, feeling incredibly awkward. Star on the other hand felt a bit offended because that title previously belonged to her. Losing to Marco in terms of beauty… Had the world gone mad?

"But hey, you know. I get it. Got the horns, the fire, I'm a demon, not really the type of guy you'd like to get to know." Tom added as he dragged himself to the café doors.

Marco was feeling unusually bad for the guy. Sure he was a demon, but that didn't mean he couldn't be a good guy. I mean, he hung out with the guy every other week. Besides the whole torturing of souls, he wasn't that bad a person, demon, hellspawn, whatever.

Star was giving him a look. As much as she felt sorry for Tom too, she knew it wasn't a good idea for Marco to be well… too Marco here. Being too much of a good guy and promising Tom some time in a future date would seriously Star things up to another level. What would happen if Tom got even more attracted to Marcia Diaz and she suddenly disappeared off the face of the universe? Worse, if he found out it was actually Marco? So with every single one of her brain cells, Star Butterfly tried to telepathically tell Marco to not do what he looked like he was about to do.

"Sorry…" Marco mouthed to Star, being uncharacteristically driven more by emotion and his urges than logic.

"Noooooo Marcoooooo! This is a really big mistake!" Star screamed in her head. Whether Marco heard her telepathic message or not didn't matter, it was plain to see on her face.

He stood up, walked up to Tom and tapped him on the back. He turned his head, his face still forlorn.

"Look Tom… I'm really sorry if I made you feel bad, but I'm not judging you for being a demon or anything. Heck, you even seem to be a decent guy... My friends and I are just really enjoying are time together right now." Marco explained, flicking a few annoying hairs from his face. He still wasn't used to having long hair.

"So… you're saying we can hang out another time? Like tomorrow?" Tom asked, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, a look that made Marco shudder deep inside.

"W-well… that's not what I… l-let's just see if I'm free tomorrow…" Marco muttered, looking to the side because he didn't want to see Tom's face anymore. Big mistake, because to Tom, it looked like a girl being shy about her feelings.

And with that Tom ran outside and raised his arms in the air. Engulfing himself in a torrent of flames.

"WOOOHOOOOOO! I'll see you tomorrow!" He screamed a he disappeared into a puff of smoke, leaving nothing but scorch marks and silence.

Marco pulled his hand down his face in frustration. That didn't go as he wanted to and he didn't even want to do that in the first place. It was like he wasn't in as much control of himself as he usually was. He was annoyed and his best friend knew it. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"More cake?" She asked, knowingly.

"Yes please…" Marco groaned. He felt the strange need to eat his stress away. "Also can we get something salty for dinner? Like salt and pepper spareribs from the Chinese place or a really, REALLY greasy, salty burger?"

Star patted him on the back, completely understanding his cravings. "Sure anything to make you feel better girl friend."

"Ugh… maybe some churros too." Marco added, still staring at the place they had last seen Tom.

Meanwhile back at their table…

"Told you she'd date a few bad boys first!" Janna whispered to Jackie, who merely wondered if they were going to have to pay for the burn marks on the floor.

* * *

End of Chapter Four

Hope you all liked that chapter. Currently working on the next one, but I might update after we all die inside come the season 2 finale. Need time to recover from Nefcy and company's epic script writing... Honestly, as someone who loves stories I get it. SVTFOE is very meta. It's very real in a lot of ways. Star fell for Marco off-screen, we have no idea when, but she fell for him as a person and probably gradually, which in my opinion, is the best way to fall for someone. I just hope that even if she has no choice but to throw her feelings aside, she can still fall for him again later on.

Secondly, Marco's a teen, of course if the girl he's liked all this time wants to go out with him, he'll do it (even if they don't seem a good fit). But pretty soon, if he and Star can't make it work somehow, he may have to make a choice between them and I wouldn't rule out Star leaving for a while, leaving us a season 3 where they're separate at the start (there's an idea for Disney...). Or maybe Star might actually get together with Oscar, who knows? But really, as adorable as Star and Marco are together, they still need to grow first, whether apart or beside each other. So that when they do get together, it'll be for good. **Starco all the way!** I believe!


	5. That was a Rental

Okay, took a long time with this one because the last few episodes of season two really shook me up and I kept redoing and redoing this chapter until it barely felt right to me. So... here's chapter 5. It has a lot of... stuff.

 **Chapter 5 – That was a Rental**

The oddly colorful spire that protruded out of the Diaz house has always been an object of mystery and a source of strange sights and sounds. People have even said they once saw a decapitated horse head floating around it and at another time, a carriage carried by some winged demon of sorts. Today though, they had to settle for the strange grunts and pants of two teens coming from the tower windows.

"Just… a little more Marco!" The princess yelled. Her breathing erratic.

"Star… I really can't take any more of this!" Her best friend replied, grunting and running out of breath. "Ugh! So tight!"

The blonde haired princess bit her lower lip as her limbs tensed. She was almost done and now, she just… she just had to let go.

"And there! We're done!" Star exclaimed, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she admired her handiwork. Marcia Diaz was wearing a variation of the traditional Mexican tabasco dress, but it had this hilariously large red ribbon tied at the waist care of Star Butterfly.

"Ugh… how do you girls even breathe in these things?" Marco complained, massaging his back which Star had been pulling and kicking against just to get the clothes to fit.

"It's all about the posture. Or so my mom says… I never really wear them on dates." Star replied.

"Then why am I wearing one!" Marco asked, his voice rising slightly.

"Because Marco, if we want to drive Tom away, you have to act like the most boring, most proper, most typical rubber stamp princess ever and then… act crazy and disgusting. Trust me." Star gave her makeover project another looksee. Marco's hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, his ruffled white top had bright multi-colored embroidery, his dress was a rainbow of red, sun yellow and lime green, and he wore bright red heels underneath.

"I hope this works…" Marco muttered, trying to move around in his outfit.

"Well, we wouldn't have to worry about this if you hadn't gone all mushy on Tom in the café." Star rolled her eyes mockingly.

"I told you already! I wasn't being mushy! I just felt like I didn't have all that much control as usual." The boy retorted.

"And I told you, that's part of being a girl, you get mood swings, cravings, anxiety, you sometimes get really down or really mushy about things you aren't even normally mushy about before you start bleeding out. You'll have to deal with it Marco." She replied back sternly, no longer feeling awkward with this kind of conversation.

"Yeah, yeah… so how do I look?" Marco asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Like a beautiful princess from the magical land of Mexico!" Star gave Marco two thumbs up and a very toothy grin.

Marco looked at himself in the mirror. He could barely recognize himself. Star had picked the dress based on that movie with the Mexican lovers that they had watched together in her bed days ago. He had to admit. He looked quite the part. Marco Diaz was almost ready to be the most obnoxious princess ever and chase an annoying demon all the way back to the underworld.

Now they just had to put on the finishing touches.

"Okay, so run through the important parts of the plan." Star commanded, making Marco sigh.

"Priority one is to bore the target and annoy him by being too uptight and finicky with etiquette and the like." Marco replied monotonously. "And then later, we switch to being moody, crazy and disgusting. Basically, be your mom, then you…"

"Hey!" Star retorted.

"Sorry, sorry… you're not moody." Marco corrected himself.

"You got that right Diaz... Just remember to eat a lot and use your hands if can. Tom may be a demon but he's also a prince and it'll really get on his nerves if you act a pig. Star explained, walking around Marco again and again.

"Oh, also remember to try and smear some stuff on his clothes. That really gets to him!" Star's eyes shone with mischief as she seemed too giddy about this plan. She had always been some kind of troublemaker at heart, but maybe the fact that she would be pulling one over Tom gave her just a little more joy.

Marco nodded in understanding of his friend's words, imagining himself eating with his hands and smearing sauce all over Tom's suit. It made him cringe, his cleanliness senses were going off, but then he'd always be smearing sauce over Tom. That was a plus.

"And then when walking?" Star questioned, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Keep a one and a half person distance between us and use every excuse no matter how stupid to get out of his reach." Marco answered like a good soldier.

Star strutted in front of Marco with her hand on her chin, deep in thought. The Latina princess was almost ready, but from experience, Tom could be a little more troublesome, especially if he was feeling really confident and she had to get Marco ready for that.

"Okay, let's say… I'm Tom and I'm just here walking with you and I casually try to put my arm around your shoulders like this… What do you do?" Star asked, slowly putting her arm around Marco to hold him.

"I say… Oh look at that thing!" Marco replied, expertly slipping out of Star's arms just in time to look at a make-believe interesting object.

"Great! Now we're getting somewhere!" Star cheered, clapping her hands and approving of her apprentice's improvement, but there was still one more thing to go over, unless Marco wanted another horrible memory engraved forever on his brain.

"Now, what if all else fails or you're backed into a corner… like… if Tom grabs you and tries to kiss you." Star said, a hint of seriousness in her voice.

The thought made Marco cringe and shudder, before a troublesome idea made his stomach turn. "Wait, did he do that to you?" Marco asked, feeling a bit protective of his best friend.

"W-what! No… of course not! That has nothing to do with this! Now what do you do Marco?" Star asked again firmly, avoiding the topic.

Marco grumbled to himself, but still answered, though sarcastically. "I dunno, punch him in the face, karate chop to the neck, kick to the nuts?"

"No, Marco… What would a girl do?" Star asked again, her voice exasperated.

"I push him away and say… I'm sorry but I just don't see you that way." Marco replied lazily. "And then I crush his stupid demon heart and walk away."

"That's right Marco!" Star clapped her hands excitedly. She had taught him all she could in the short time they had. All they needed now were some tools just in case. So the princess ran across the room and began rummaging through her treasure chest.

"I know I put those earrings in here somewhere… No, that's Janna's pepper spray…" Star said to herself, as she tossed out object after object onto the floor.

Marco however, was just watching her, visibly annoyed. The thought of Tom forcing a kiss on Star made him livid. No one should do that, especially not to Star. His best friend deserved better and Marco felt he deserved to know the truth. The young man in the colorful dress took a few steps towards the princess, with a daring idea in mind, one that he wouldn't have acted on normally.

"Here they are!" Star shouted out, holding up the objects with her head still deep inside the chest.

"Now let we just have to put on one of these each and we'll be able to talk to each other anytime." Star explained pulling her head out and approaching Marco to put on the accessory.

"Stay still Marco, I just have to put it on ya." Star said, too busy accessorizing her friend to notice the seriousness in his eyes.

All he could look at was her face. She had always been beautiful. Her bright blue eyes shone brighter than a clear summer sky and went deeper than any ocean. Her cute little nose crinkled adorably whenever she laughed. The distinct heart marks on her slightly puffy cheeks glowed with a light blush whenever she smiled or laughed. And her lips… her lips, a natural light blushing pink, so soft, so tender that the thought of Tom forcing his lips upon her made his blood boil.

"Hey Star?" Marco asked, never once looking away.

"Yeah Marco?" She replied, finishing up on the earring before looking back at him.

"What if… Tom does **this** to me? He asked.

Suddenly Star felt her legs go weak.

Marco had swiftly but gently put his right hand behind curve of Star's back, pulling her close as if dancing under moonlight. They were close, so close. He could feel the heat from her face, the warmth of her breath as her breathing seemed to shallow from the intimacy. She wasn't resisting, if anything, she even held tightly onto his arms, pulling him in, just a bit. All he wanted was to tease her, to see if she would be and had been vulnerable to such a thing before.

But… he could see her eyes. Oh God those eyes… Her twin blue orbs seemed like they shared her namesake within them. They were like a galaxy swirling and shimmering in an ocean of stars. He wanted to get lost in their wanting, wishing, yearning for his attention. Asking him to get closer… Whether these were his emotions or hers, he didn't know anymore, but one thing was sure… this was no longer about some demon ex-boyfriend.

Time stopped as he felt himself being pulled to her. He wanted to taste her, feel her. Her scent was already overwhelming him. The air between them was reminiscent of strawberries, which he never really smelled in his life, but he knew, that this sweet candy scent was hers and hers alone. He couldn't help it anymore. The air between them was hot, mixing with the heat of their bodies. All his inhibitions had disappeared as let himself go, closing the distance between them.

He parted his lips and thought he saw her do the same.

* * *

"Star, Marco! Your friends just arrived." Angie Diaz announced, opening the tower door and stepping inside.

"They're waiting for you down… stairs…" Angie voice trailed off and her capacity for speech lost, as she took in the sight before her. For a while, she thought her eyes were deceiving her. All she could see was her son, in a dress and the princess of Mewni in each other's arms, lips parted and literally just a centimeter or two away, nervously looking at her from the corner of their eyes.

"Well, I think I left the stove on downstairs… Carry on you two..." Angie Diaz said as cheerfully as she possibly could, slowly closing the tower door, leaving the two roommates alone once more.

They stayed unmoving like statues in a Greek garden, with their lips, once parted and ready to accept the other, but now shut and embarrassed beyond reason. The heat that had built up between them had seemingly gone into their faces as they faced away together, keeping their eyes far, far from each other.

"…"

"…"

As if on cue, the pair let go of each other, their faces flushed from their hearts pumping furiously and their eyes looking at anything but at each other. They could only stand so close.

"W-well, that was really weird." The pair said together in perfect time, earning another silence between them.

"…we'll have to explain it to her later…" They repeated the feat, making them both annoyed and uncomfortable.

"…I'm just gonna go downstairs." It happened for a third time, making anyone wonder if they had been twins once.

They spent a few more moments of awkward silence. Wanting to know what the other was thinking, but also afraid to venture forth again. Marco could only stare at the colors of his dress, which he had completely forgotten he was wearing. In all honesty, he even forgot that he was a girl at the moment. Other thoughts busied his mind and made him very aware of the sweat building on his palms.

Star on the other hand had been digging her nails into her wand. She did not know where her mind went when Marco pulled her in. All she could remember was seeing his hazelnut eyes gazing deep into hers and the warmth of his body sharing itself in the space between them. Whatever this was. This was not good and she didn't want to think about it anymore than she should.

"I-I'm going down to see Jackie and Janna first." Marco offered to leave. Moving farther away from Star with every step.

"O-okay Marco." Star replied meekly, still staring at the space in front of her, both relieved and disappointed at her best friend's leaving.

"…See you down in a while." Marco said back, careful not to make eye contact as he shut the door to her tower.

He had meant to go downstairs immediately, but his legs failed him the moment he heard the door click. Instead, he fell down in front of Star's room, cupping his face in his hands. What just happened in there, was something he wasn't expecting at all. Star was his best friend. He had liked Jackie all this time and… He was currently in a girl's body, wearing a dress. Nothing about this seemed right.

"Way to go Diaz…" He mumbled to himself, leaning back on the tower door. "What the heck did you do?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back inside her room…

"Oh no… Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no…" Star mumbled to herself as she paced back and forth in her room. Her cheeks were lit up in bright pink. She didn't need a mirror for that, she could literally see it glowing from the corner of her eyes. She had never reacted this way with anyone before. Not Tom, not Oscar, not even to Justin Towers from Love Sentence.

Marco Diaz was her best friend. That's how she thought and knew him as. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, he was closer to her than anybody else and she kind of got possessive over him a few times, but that was _normal_. This couldn't be true. He liked Jackie. Jackie liked him. They were supposed to have beautiful brown haired babies with his smile and her eyes. She couldn't get in the way of his happiness.

"Get a hold of yourself Star… you are not in love with Marco Diaz. Say it!" She commanded herself mentally.

"I am not… in love… with… with…" She hesitated, falling down to the floor and pulling her knees in. She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, not when she was alone without anyone but herself.

"Star Butterfly… you're in deep, deep trouble." She mumbled to herself sadly, burying her face in her knees.

* * *

Time passed without either of them noticing and before they knew it, Tom had arrived in his demonic carriage, ready for the evening.

As expected, the demon prince had fixed himself up and was wearing a formal black suit similar to the one Marco first saw him in. Although strangely, the demon prince kept stuttering and making clumsy mistakes such as shutting the front door in a panic when Marco appeared in his dress for the evening.

Marco didn't really care though. He didn't want any part of this night, but he also didn't want to deal with facing Star again so soon again. For the life of him, he had no idea what to say to her or how to even be in the same room as her. So maybe this night with Tom would be a good distraction at least.

Maybe, things would magically blow over by the time he came back.

"So where are we going?" Marco asked as he entered the familiar room that expanded beyond the confines of the carriage. Nothing much had changed except that Tom had gotten rid of the tiger and the video games in an attempt to look more mature.

"W-well, I was thinking we could go to this nice romantic restaurant in this tropical dimension… b-but if that's too much for you we can just go wherever you want!" Tom added nervously, just to make sure.

Marco thought about it for a while. He preferred going somewhere he could escape from easily since he didn't have any dimensional scissors on him. Then again, Star had promised she'd come rescue him if things started to go too downhill.

"Pick the beach place!" yelled a familiar voice in his ear, making him grit his teeth in pain.

"Janna, Star said we're supposed to be helping her avoid the dude." Another mellow voice answered back.

"Chill Jackie. Star's not here and Marcie needs to date a few bad boys… this one seems like kind of a geek though. He's spazzing out." The voice apparently belonging to the school troublemaker replied calmly.

"Maybe they can just go to a club nearby or something?" The skater girl suggested.

While the two girls kept discussing in Marco's ear, he could only crack an awkward smile. His supposed backup for the night seemed to be nowhere to be found and he couldn't blame her. After what nearly happened between them, he wasn't sure if he was comfortable with hearing her voice either.

"Maybe we can just go to this Greek restaurant nearby? It's just five blocks down in an old building. It's not super fancy, but it has a dance floor." Marco suggested, trying to ignore the chatter in his ear.

"Oooooh, classy choice Marcie!" Janna commented.

"Yeah, the Kouzina is a great place! Nice one girl!" Jackie added, talking into the accessory on the table.

Marco could only sigh as Tom directed the steeds pulling the carriage. It looks like he was in this alone… but at least he could throw all his frustrations onto an unwitting demon.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Diaz household…

Star sat on the uppermost step of the staircase, where she could hear Janna and Jackie trying to give Marco the best advice they could, which wasn't really good at all. They weren't really focused on keeping Tom away or giving Marco advice on how to. Well… that was supposed to be her job, but after their almost kiss and likely make out session after, she couldn't bring herself to talk to him, even if it was through a pair of enchanted earrings.

She could pretend it never happened and if he brought it up, say it was just the heat of the moment getting to her. Then everything would go back to normal like it should, but right now… she needed some time to herself. Even if she really wanted to help Marco, for now she had to settle for listening in from the stairs.

She remembered the exact restaurant Marco suggested to Tom. It was a lovely place. The restaurant was in the shape of a large dome, with two floors. The lower one having a dance floor under the light of the stars and moon, surrounded by several old stone pillars and rustic tables. While the other one was a set of balconies overlooking the starlit dance floor. The whole place was decorated with vines, greenery and miniature flowers wrapping around the walls, the pillars and the balconies. Every corner housed these old lamps which had been fashioned to run on electricity instead of oil, much like the dim lights hanging silently from the ceiling. In a word, the place was beautiful, romantic even.

Star recalled when Marco had brought her there. It was the Diaz family reunion. There she met many of Marco's relatives. His uncles, aunts, cousins, his abuelo and his abuela, who couldn't get enough of pinching her cheeks. She really enjoyed herself that night despite all the teasing she and Marco had to put up with. After all, it was a really beautiful place. She really fell in love with it.

"Man, they just don't let up." Marco complained jokingly as he referred to how his family had a tendency to fawn over him. It was especially bad now that he had brought Star.

"Awwww, I think it's adorable Marco. Your family is really great! I just wish your grandma wouldn't pinch my cheeks so much though." Star commented, rubbing her cheeks that were now a bit sore. She smiled as she watched the Diaz family laugh and take to the dance floor.

"This place is really beautiful Marco…" Star muttered as she looked to the stars above, covered by a thin layer of glass.

"Well, my uncle Julio owns it. He always wanted to make a place just like this. So, when I happened across this old place a year or so back, I knew it would be perfect and we kinda made it happen." Marco explained looking to the star studded sky as well.

"That's a really nice story Marco." Star replied dreamily.

"Yeah, it took a lot of work though. The place was kinda broken down, but we worked a lot on it. I even helped with the designs of the place." Marco leaned over the balcony to see his parents dancing merrily without a care in the world.

"It comes with perks though." Marco commented, laughing at his parents a bit.

Star gave him a curious look. "What kind of perks?" She asked, her eyes shining in the pale moonlight.

"Well, I get to eat here for free anytime… And my uncle said if I ever need the place for a date or something, he'll reserve the entire place for me, no questions asked." Marco answered, his face blushing a bit on the latter part.

"A place like this for a date? That's soooo romantic Marco!" Star squealed, excited for her best friend. "You can have a nice candlelit dinner on the balcony, look at the night sky and then dance under the stars!" Her mind began to race with the possibilities of this place.

"You can even have a wedding reception here!" She added enthusiastically. "I know I would!"

"Well, I have to get a girl to go out with me first. Still on step three of my crazy plan you know…" Marco replied sheepishly, knowing he was far from going out with Jackie.

"You'll get her wild man! But for now, maybe your uncle will be kind enough to let me eat for free here too!" Star added jokingly as she grabbed another gyro from her plate and began eating it without much care for etiquette, making Marco do the same.

They had ended that night with dancing and laughing. Star wished so hard that they could just go back to that now.

"Marcia?! Marcia!" Janna's voice rang out loudly, shaking Star from her thoughts.

"Calm down Janna! Let's just go get Star." Jackie's voice rang out as well, though much more mellow than her friend's.

Star got up from where she had been sitting. This was no time to reminisce or trouble herself with the new feelings inside her. Marco needed her.

* * *

Leaving the demonic carriage outside the old rustic building, the strange pair went inside with Marco leading the way and Tom trailing a bit further behind, nervously twiddling his fingers. Nothing had changed much from the last time Marco was here. Vines and flowers still wrapped the walls and pillars intricately. More lights were put up, but not so much that it would ruin the subtle darkness in the atmosphere. And the skylight still clearly displayed the vision of the heavenly bodies. It was a breath taking sight, but unfortunately he was not here to enjoy a date with a girl.

He WAS the girl…

"Oh why hello there little senorita! Table for you and the ummm… young gentleman I presume?" A rather stout latino man with a very defined mustache greeted them. Marco knew this man as his uncle Julio, but to Marcia, he was just the shop owner.

"Yes! Two of your finest seats please!" Tom replied for them, putting a stack of solid gold coins on the counter. However, uncle Julio only took one and pushed the rest back to Tom.

"One is enough young ones." He explained with a smile, gesturing to the other staff that he would gladly be the one to serve this young couple. Then, he asked the two to follow him, leading them to one of the stairs and up the balcony seats.

"Wow… really nice of this guy to just take one. Most humans I know would just grab everything." The demon prince commented, trying to start a conversation.

"Well, most humans are good innately you know." Marco replied, trying to sound a bit annoyed. "Some just get lost on the way."

"Y-yeah, of course… my bad." Tom replied nervously, tugging at his collar as they followed the man to their seats. His confidence being shot down again.

On the other hand, Marco seemingly forgot how to walk as he gazed at the beautiful setting before him. It was the exact same table he and Star had sat at months ago. A private veranda overlooking the dance floor and bathing in starlight. Marco couldn't help but to think back to what nearly happened between them in the house. Part of him wished that he was here with Star instead, but he shook the idea from his head. Instead, willing himself to walk towards their table as Tom strode past him.

Tom sat immediately, earning a disapproving frown from Uncle Julio. A Diaz man would've known better.

On the other hand, Marco just stood in front of the table without a sound as if waiting for something as Tom just looked at him, utterly confused. With an inward sigh, Uncle Julio had pulled out Marco's seat for him, offering the young lady in Mexican attire to sit down, which she gladly did.

"Always refreshing to see someone be a gentleman." Marco commented as he sat down, focusing on his mission instead of the persistent image of Star in his head.

"The pleasure's all mine young lady." His uncle replied, handing them their menus. "Will you be ordering now or would you like look over the menu for a while?" He asked, addressing Tom.

"W-we'll call you when we're ready." He replied with a stutter, knowing that he just messed up again.

So with a bow, the stout man left their presence, leaving them to their privacy.

It didn't take a genius to see that Tom was uncharacteristically nervous tonight. Though it was an awkward thought, Marco concluded that the Demon probably fell in love with Marcia Diaz the moment he laid eyes on her. It almost made him feel sorry for Tom, but unfortunately, Marco was too frustrated with more recent things to really care. Tom was just the unsuspecting victim of his frustrations.

"So…" Marco started, breaking the silence. "What do you think is good here Tim?" He asked, making a mistake knowingly, as he flipped through the menu in a lazy, but refined manner.

"Uh… actually it's Tom." He corrected, feeling awkward. "I was actually thinking we should ask the chef to prepare what he recommends. I mean… he knows best right?" Tom finished his sentence with a fake laugh, but go no reaction from his date.

"I guess that'll have to do." Marco answered unfeelingly, making Tom fidget in his seat as he pressed the call button.

"Ice cold Marcie! Nice... Guess you've got some moves in you too." Janna shouted into his ear, making him consider removing the earring.

Within seconds, Uncle Julio was back with a smile and a notepad, ready to take their order.

"So, have you two decided what you'll be having tonight?" He asked with a hearty smile.

"We'll be having a full course of whatever the chef recommends for tonight." Tom tried to say confidently, clearing his throat, determined to make things right.

To this Uncle Julio grinned and said, "We'll do our best and serve you our finest dishes. Please take your time and enjoy this romantic evening."

"Romantic evening! What?! We're gonna have our way with this little demon! Make him serve us for the rest of his life!" Janna shouted once again, making Marco groan inwardly as his uncle disappeared down the stairs.

Unfortunately for the demon prince, Janna was right. Despite the demon's probably honest feelings, Marco was not going to let any of his attempts at building a relationship pass tonight. Not tonight. Not ever.

"So… you like Mackie Hand?" Tom managed to say casually, remembering their first conversation ever.

"A bit." Marco answered, expecting this topic. "My cousin Marco kinda got me into liking martial arts."

"I see." Tom replied with a little smile. "I hang out with Marco every now and then you know. We play games, watch Mackie Hand, copy his moves." Tom explained, feeling like he was finally going to get a good conversation going, but he couldn't be more wrong.

Marcia Diaz was not playing nice tonight.

"That's lovely but… can you not do that?" Marco requested, pointing at the part of the table in front of Tom, confusing the demon and making the voices in Marco's ear gasp and chatter, they clearly wanted to know what was going on.

"Do what? Hang out with Marco." He asked, not really knowing where this statement came from.

"No, putting your elbows on the table. Its bad table manners." Marco explained, her tone sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Sure he knew he was kind of being a jerk, but making sure that Tom never even wanted to think about Marcia Diaz again was a must.

"O-oh, sorry. That was my bad completely!" Tom let out another nervous chuckle, something he had been doing a lot tonight.

Marco studied Tom for a moment, making the demon sweat even if he was far from the firepits of the underworld. He was far from done.

"Ummmm… could you do a few more things for me Tom? Just to put me at ease?" Marco asked with a smile.

"For sure! Anything, just name it and it's done!" Tom replied immediately, wanting to do whatever it took to make this night work.

The Latina girl gracefully walked over to Tom's side of the table and stopped right behind him.

"Could you… fix your sitting posture?" Marco forcefully poked the middle of Tom's spine. "Chest out, back straight." He instructed coldly as he walked around the horned teen.

"Keep your legs straight in front of the seat, not apart like you're lounging." He nudged Tom's feet by kicking them.

"Feet flat on the ground and parallel to each other." He commented, making Tom study his feet immediately.

"Chin up please Tom." Marco ordered as soon as Tom turned his head downwards.

"Also… keep your elbows as close to your body at all times, even when you eat. Unless you absolutely need to reach for something far." He instructed as he pushed Tom's arms so close to his body that his elbows dug into his sides.

Marco stepped back for a moment studying his frenemy again.

"I-is there more? Tom asked, feeling and looking very uncomfortable.

"Well, we can't do anything about your unruly hair… but please put on a pleasant smile for the rest of the evening." Marco requested, putting on a smile himself as he floated back to his seat.

"Is this fine?" Tom asked through his teeth as he tried to smile through his discomfort.

"Yes, thank you and sorry for all the fuss. I just don't feel at ease unless proper etiquette and decorum is followed. Thank you for being a gentleman Tom." Marco gave a small nod of approval for Tom's effort and discomfort.

"Anything to make you feel at home..." Tom strained to reply, beginning to get annoyed and confused. Clearly, this girl wasn't what he made her out to be.

Despite the chatter and laughter of his friends in his ear, Marco was pleased with his progress. He knew he was getting on Tom's nerves. Just a little more and he'd forget about dating Marcia Diaz ever again. He just needed a little push.

"So Tom… what do you do with your life? Unlife? Can you even die?" Marco asked casually, making Tom feel at ease a bit. Finally, a conversation of some sort.

"Well, yeah I'm alive. I'm no zombie you know, but as for where I go when I die… that's the big question for all of us isn't it?" Tom answered cryptically, making Marco nod in interest even if Janna had commented that demons just disappear into oblivion and Jackie question if the underworld was indeed hell.

Helpful or not, their little discussion in his ear gave Marco an idea.

"Hmmmmm… So what does a demon do all day? Torture poor souls and the like?" Marco asked, pretending to be curious.

"W-well it's a little more complicated than that…" Tom nervously reached for his nape, knowing this was a rather odd and uncomfortable topic for most people. "Yes, we torture and make people suffer… but you know, they were sent to the underworld in the first place. So it means they were horrible people to begin with." Tom tried to explain as Uncle Julio returned with their appetizers.

"But what about mercy? Can't you just rehabilitate them? Who gets to say that the underworld should be so horrible in the first place? Marco reasoned, knowing full well from hanging out with Tom, that demons and their realm sustained its power through suffering.

"W-well, how about we dig in first and save the discussion about the demon realm later?" Tom stood up hastily and began to serve his date the appetizers. Tom was used to dating and one rule of first dates was never talk about anything serious and he was desperately trying to steer them back to cheerier waters.

"Mmmmm… don't these look good! I'm sure you'll enjoy them!" Tom commented with a grin as he went back to his seat and began to get food himself, complimenting the food with every bite he took.

On the other hand, Marco merely stared at the collection of lamb meatballs, fried eggplants, zucchini fritters, pita and bowl of hummus on his plate. Everything was going quite well even without Star's help and the fact that he had two girls constantly talking into his ear. Clearly, he had successfully ensured Tom's displeasure with him. Yet, he did not feel any sense of achievement or accomplishment at all.

He had distracted himself from his other thoughts by dealing with the demon in front of him, but it was the conflicting voices in his heart that he was struggling with. They were waging a war in him that he didn't know how to stop or deal with. However, instead of taking the time to listen to them, he opted to distract himself again, this time with food.

With one elegant wave of his hand, he grabbed the proper dinner fork and stuck it into one of the vegetables on his plate. Carefully carrying the food to his mouth as he followed the lessons Miss Heinous had tried to brainwash him with, Marcia Diaz began eating as properly as a princess could. Course after course, the dishes came and he continued to eat in silence, despite Tom's attempts at conversation and chances to once again comment on the demon prince's lack of etiquette. The food was great, but even with the flavors exploding on his tongue, he could not help but feel like it lacked the color it once had.

Frustratingly, nothing he had done tonight had worked or helped. He felt like he had enough. He had enough of this date, enough of the continuous stream of chatter in his ear, enough of being trapped in a girl's body and enough of dealing with the confusion that almost kissing your best friend brought with it.

So when the Uncle Julio had placed the next dish, a bowl of Soutzoukakia or spicy sausages in a tomato based sauced, Marco knew what he had to do to bring this night to an end.

"Ohhhh! My favorite!" He shouted quite loudly, making Tom look up in surprise. As soon as the bowl hit the table, Marco dipped his hands into the saucy dish, feeling the warmth spread between his fingers as he grabbed a sausage and popped it into his mouth, making sure to smear some of the sauce on his face.

He heard the sound of silverware clattering on the floor. Tom had dropped his fork in the same way his jaw had. With all three eyes wide in surprise and disgust, he watched as this supposedly perfect princess devoured the dish as if it was the last morsel of food on the planet.

He followed her hands, sloppily reaching into her mouth every time, chewing loudly until there was but only one piece left.

"Oh my! Where are my manners!" Marco suddenly exclaimed, feigning embarrassment. "I finished it all, here you can have the last one!" Marco offered.

With a cheery skip and a hop, Marco grabbed the bowl, carried it over to Tom and picked the sausage up with his already dirty fingers.

Tom could only sit, stuck to his seat, paralyzed by the sight.

"Here you go… Say aaaaaahhhh…" Marco sang sweetly in sarcasm as he slowly pushed the saucy wad of meat closer to Tom's face, making him gradually back away into his seat until he could no longer move. He was cornered.

But much to the demon's relief, this sweet moody princess had dropped the Greek sausage, which had bounced of his clothes and onto the floor. His suit was dirty, but at least he was safe.

"O-oh, would you look at that. Too bad, I'll just taste the next dish!" He exclaimed with delight, but Marco had other plans.

"What are you talking about? It hasn't even been five seconds. It's such a waste!" Marco exclaimed as he crouched down onto the floor that thousands of feet had stepped on, picked up the fallen piece of meat and shoved it down Tom's demonic throat.

"See… doesn't it taste just heavenly!" Princess Marco said with the widest and brightest smile he could muster.

Tom's mind raced upon seeing her innocent smile. He could not, for the life of him, understand what he had to do next. His choices were either to swallow the dirty piece of meat as to not offend his lovely, but disgusting date OR to just puke out his guts and run away from this crazy, but beautiful young woman.

Unfortunately, before he could even begin to think, Uncle Julio had arrived with another dish in hand. Tom didn't know what it was, or what it was called, but as soon as he heard the words " _Oooooh, my other favorite dish!_ " his decision had been made for him.

Option number three, apologize to his anger management coach.

The demon rose into the air, black speech flowing from his mouth as torrents of flames begun to erupt around him, burning the floors, the walls and the furniture around to a crisp.

"Uh-oh…" Was all Marco could say as he shielded his uncle from the dancing pillars of flame. Maybe, just maybe, he had gone too far this time.

"Marcia? What's happening? What's that weird chanting sound?" Jackie's mellow voice asked him, but he had no time to answer.

More flames begun to erupt around the restaurant, threatening both the guests and the staff. Marco had to deal with this. And now.

"Tom! Calm down!" He screamed, stepping towards the demon.

"Calm down?! Calm down?! I've had enough of being calm around you, you filthy moody, disgusting human girl!" Tom declared in his deep bloodcurdling demonic voice.

"Do you know who you just tried to defile?!" The Prince of the Underworld asked, his eyes glowing red with rage.

"Why don't you enlighten me?!" Marco yelled back, not afraid of Tom at all, but getting rather annoyed with the unhelpful commentary in his ear.

"Marcie? I know I'm into all the dark witchy stuff, but that wasn't a good idea." Janna commented as Marco watched Tom's body burst into red hot flames.

"I am the Tom Lucitor! Prince of the underworld! The torturer of souls! The heir to the Undying Flames of Wrath!" He declared, fury clear in every word as flames consumed his body even further.

As if in reply to this, a bowl of meat sailed through the air and met with the demon's face, slowly sliding off him to reveal his face contorted in rage.

"You dare! YOU DARE!" Tom bellowed, sending a blast of fire back at Marco, who barely had time to push his uncle out of the way and dodge it. Luckily he did, but his Uncle had been knocked to the side.

The young man in a girl's body, slowly got up after making sure his uncle was alright. His family was mostly safe, but he was not. The flames had barely touched him over the shoulder and at the side of his head. They had burned the skin on his left arm, singed, his hair and had cracked the earring Star had given him for tonight. He was not pleased.

"My beautiful flowing chestnut hair! My dress! That was a rental!" Marco screamed as he realized the damage he had taken. If he had just focused through the static and the panicked screams of the people around him, he would've heard three girls trying to find out what was going on. But the earrings were too damaged and Marco was too annoyed by his burnt dress to care at the moment.

"Okay demon boy… No more sweet little princess!" Marco declared, curling his hands into fists.

"I'm gonna put my foot so far up your demon butt you'll be choking on my knee!" Marco cried out in rage as he rushed towards Tom, weaving expertly through all the flames flung at him until he was but a leap away from the demon.

It would've been no problem if he had been wearing jeans, but with every dodge he made, bits of his colourful dress were burned off. So as he made his move, leaping into the air and twisting his body to land a kick on Tom's neck, both he and Tom saw something strange that made all their thoughts stop for a moment.

Marco saw, the full length of his leg all the way to his hip, fully exposed for both him and his opponent to see right before his foot made contact with the demon prince's neck.

CRACK! Went his opponent as he sailed through the air and crashed headfirst into the ground.

Marco Diaz had beat the final boss, as a teenage girl, half naked, in his uncle's dream restaurant.

* * *

As soon as the feedback on the earrings broke down, Star picked up her wand and rushed upstairs, grabbing the dimensional scissors and cutting a hole into space and time before Jackie or Janna could even call out to her.

She jumped through the portal, wand at the ready, skidding onto the ground as soon as she fell through.

"Alright Tom! Just calm your angry demon butt down and no one gets… hurt…" Star's words left her as she took in the spectacle in front of her.

Tom was on the floor, completely knocked out, neck bent abnormally, but hey he was a demon, he'd live through it. Her concern was the half-naked latina girl who was trying to pull a table cloth free from the wreckage in order to cover herself up.

There she stood, half of her ponytail burnt to a crisp, most of her outfit turned to ash aside from her underwear and a crazed look on her face as she continued to tug on the trapped piece of cloth.

"Marco?" Star called out, afraid for her best friend, who upon noticing her, covered his body as much as he could with his limbs and jumped behind the wreckage of the balcony.

"I'm not decent!" He shouted from behind the broken table, stilling pulling at the table cloth.

"Marco? What happened?" She asked worriedly. Though judging from the surroundings, she had a pretty vague idea.

"Ugh… it was Tom. Once I tried to be gross and feed him some food off the floor, he flipped out and started burning the place." He explained, finally freeing a piece of tablecloth to cover himself up.

"Oh yeah… I did tell you to be disgusting. Guess that was kinda my bad." Star replied, carefully walking through the debris towards her best friend.

"Never told you to feed him something from the floor though." Star commented with a giggle.

"Star… you do that to me all the time." Marco retorted.

"Yeah, but all I said was smear stuff on him. That was all you mess up twin!" She replied back, playfully nudging him with her elbow.

"I was just trying to act like you, you know!" Said Marco, nudging her back in her ribs.

They ended up laughing together despite the destruction that surrounded them. They wiped a few happy tears from their eyes, content to be acting normal with each other once more.

"So… I guess this means we're done with the Tom problem." Star commented happily.

"Yeah… but the restaurant is kinda trashed." Marco looked around to find that the rest of the restaurant had been badly burnt as well. Luckily, no one else seemed to be injured though.

Star shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, not as bad as when Tom and I broke up. Whole place burned to the ground." She explained.

"And besides…" Star walked her way over to Tom's unconscious body, searching around his coat pockets and upon finding what she was searching for, walked back to her best friend.

She dropped a heavy bag of solid gold coins in Marco's hands. "I think this will just about cover it."

Marco smiled and made his way over to his uncle who was still lying on the floor, unconscious as well.

Marco and Star were glad to see that Uncle Julio was relatively unscathed. So with a little shake and nudge of his large belly, Uncle Julio opened his eyes.

"Oh… my head… what happened? Star? What are you doing here?" Uncle Julio asked, very confused.

"Uncle Julio!" Star shouted, giving him a big hug. "I was just picking up my friend Marcia here from her horrible date."

"Ahhhh yes… the demon boy, who tried to burn my dream restaurant." He commented, making the two best friends laugh nervously. They couldn't deny they were partly responsible.

"Well, about the damages… I think this will be enough to cover it." Marco handed the sack of coins to his Uncle, who looked at it in disbelief.

"Tom over there's gonna cover everything." Marco stated, pointing to the unconscious demon.

"Forget the damages, this'll cover even my employees' salaries and our profits while the place is getting fixed! We can even make it better than before! Uncle Julio shouted with glee as he took Marco's hands into his own.

"Marcia was it? Thank you so vert much… But if I were you, I'd try and pick the men I go out with more carefully." Uncle Julio warned, feeling strangely responsible for the young woman.

"It's okay sir. I'll be more careful, but a little trouble is fun every now and then." Marco replied as he looked at Star, who was busy throwing Tom through a portal to God knows where.

"Well, sir. I think I have to get home now. I hope to see this place open again soon!" Marco shouted as he ran over to Star, who had cut open another portal.

"Bye Uncle Julio!" Star shouted as she waved goodbye.

"Bye Mister Julio!" Marco waved as well.

"Goodbye you two! Take care and date wisely!" He bellowed as he watched them disappear into thin air.

"Such a nice girl. If only Marco didn't have Star, I'd introduce him to her." Uncle Julio mumbled to himself as he thought about the beautiful young woman, who in retrospect, looked a lot like Marco.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea." He muttered to himself, realizing that the two would look more like siblings than lovers.

* * *

As soon as Marco felt his feet touch the ground, his eyes scanned the view in front of him. Star had not opened a portal home, not exactly anyway. There they stood, atop the roof of the Diaz house, the place they often went to chat, look at the Stars or just chill the night away. It was also one of the places they used when they really needed to talk.

Marco turned to see Star, who was pointing her wand at him, instantly fixing his burnt dress and his singed hair with a flurry of magic and butterflies.

"Thanks…" Marco replied. Glad that he did not have to return a fragment of cloth to the rental place.

"Guess that solves another one of our problems!" Star quipped, with a short lived laugh.

The two of them sat down on the roof, looking at the rows and rows of houses in front of them, fading into the shadows of the city. For quite a while, neither of them spoke, even though they both knew what they were here for. They still had something to talk about and as friends, they had never let anything boil for too long, not when it was so obvious.

"So ummm…" They said at the same time.

"You go first." They said in unison again, falling into silence again.

"We need to talk about what happened earlier." Their voices joined in a melody as the cool evening breeze nipped at their faces.

Marco could see Star's face clearly in the moonlight and she could see his. If they were going to get through this, they needed to be honest.

"I'm sorry…" Marco said.

"W-what? Why are you sorry?" Star exclaimed, rather surprised.

"I… you know, I was teasing you and it kinda led to us almost…"

"…kissing…" Star finished for him, her heartmarks lighting up with a bright pink.

"Yeah…" Marco replied, his cheeks glowing into a shade of red. "I mean, it's not like I didn't want to. At the time, we were so close and I saw your eyes and you're the best girl a guy could ask for…"

Marco's words made Star's heart beat ten times faster, or at least it felt like it.

"S-same here… you're a really great guy Marco. I really enjoy the time we spend together, but you know, we're best friends and you like Jackie…" Star blathered on.

"And you like Oscar." Marco added, despite feeling happy to hear Star thought of him so highly as well.

"Maybe we just got carried away? You know, lost in the heat of the moment?" Star suggested, pulling at her golden hair.

"…yeah, I think that was it." Marco replied, feeling that was the best way to put it and making them fall into silence once again.

Marco was starting to feel better, even if words could only do so much. There was still so much they both had to process by themselves, but at least they could readily talk about it.

"Sorry that I got carried away too." Star said after a while. "Maybe I shouldn't have gotten so serious with the training just because I wanted to mess with Tom."

To this, Marco raised an eyebrow.

"What are you saying? You didn't do anything wrong. You were just helping me get ready Star." Marco replied, rebutting her statement. "It was all my fault, when I thought of Tom forcing himself on you, it just made me so mad that someone would do that to you."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, he did try to when we broke up… I kneed him in his nuts before he even got near enough though." Star replied with a chuckle.

"Well I'm just glad you didn't do the same to me earlier then." Marco joked back, realizing he kind of did the same.

"Well safe kid, I kinda leaned in a bit too, so let's call it quits!" Star admitted, grinning at her best friend.

Somehow, they ended up laughing on the roof, bathed in moonlight. Not only because the situation was funny, but because it felt like the only thing they could do.

"What are we doing?! We're talking about kissing each other like its normal!" Star commented once she had calmed down enough. "We're so weird."

"I think that's mostly you princess." Marco joked. "Besides, if I've learned anything about our friendship, it's better that we're not normal."

"Yeah…" Star replied, leaning into Marco, who put an arm around her. They continued to look into the distance despite the cold biting at their skin. It didn't matter what people thought was normal, their friendship was one of the greatest things that ever happened to them and nothing could ever change that.

"We shouldn't mention this to other people ever though." Star whispered into the night.

"Never mention what?" Marco joked with a knowing grin, feeling the same. They were both still young. They had a lot of room to grow and figure things out. It seemed a bit silly to change their friendship so suddenly just because they nearly kissed. Of course it would get them excited. They were teenagers and they knew that. Getting carried away was part of it. It was nothing to ruin everything they had now over. Things would change for sure, but they'd work through it.

"No idea Marco!" She replied back, hugging him back with a giggle. "But… we need to talk to Janna and Jackie though. They're probably still downstairs, waiting for us to comeback and give them all the dirt on tonight." She explained, knowing that their friends were probably too worried to leave.

"Ugh… being a girl is so tiring. Can't the girl talk wait till tomorrow?" Marco asked, sighing deeply as they began to climb down into the open window.

"Oh how little you know about girls Marco… how little you know…" Star replied, trying to sound mysterious as she disappeared through the window, leaving Marco to laugh at his best friend's antics.

Maybe a little more talk tonight wouldn't hurt.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed that! Cuz I spent a hell of a lot of days on this... but anyway, next chapter, we're getting back to the actual problem of the story... probably... Who knows?


	6. Shalalala Kiss the Girl

I can't believe it... but I've run out of Starco fanart to download. I need more... But in happier news, the next part of the story is here and I hope you like it better than the last one. We're getting back to the problem of the story, Marco's problem. Thank you to all those following and reading :) I will continue this till Marco gets his boy bits back and enjoys them to the fullest.

 **Chapter 6 – Shalalala Kiss the Girl**

It was the morning after Marcia Diaz' disastrous date with the prince of the underworld. Save for a few light burns and scratches, she escaped the demon relatively unscathed despite the latter's burning anger. These wounds were now her mark of pride for the next few days, until they healed over, proving once again the she was the toughest earthling girl around. The marks however, were hidden under the sleeves of her favorite attire, a red hoody and a short black skirt, as she continued to eat her pancakes on the sofa, watching the local news to see what they made of the most recent supernatural event.

He was busy chewing his strawberry flavoured pancakes when the cushions of the sofa shifted, indicating the presence of someone new. Marco didn't have to look though, he knew well enough who it was.

"Good morning Marco!" His roommate greeted with a voice that would make birds sing.

"Morning Star." He replied with a smile. "Look we made the news."

He pointed at the television, where the other guests were being interviewed for their take on the matter.

"They said it was a gas leak, but I ain't never seen a gas leak turn into tornadoes of flame!" Said one blonde haired man, who was pulling at his hair.

"I saw him. It was a demon, with eyes of red! At first I thought it was somebody in a costume because his date was rather colourful too… but then he started floating…" Explained a brunette woman, who was holding tightly onto a rosary.

"I couldn't care less about the fire or that guy with purple skin. I'm more concerned about that cutie pie he was with. 15 out of 10 on my scale! Call me!" Shouted another man, who pushed his cellphone into the camera, showing his phone number.

"Ugh…" Marco groaned, feeling a shiver run down his spine. "Guys like that who catcall and stuff are awful…" He commented, referring to the creepy middle aged man on TV.

He heard a somewhat eerie laugh erupt from the golden haired girl beside him. She was once again amused with the perks of Marco as a girl.

"Hahaha, well at least we have one guy in the world who gets our problems." Star commented sarcastically as she stuffed a forkful of pancakes into her mouth.

"Hey, I always got it. Cat calling is wrong and degrading. Just never understood how scary and creepy it was till now." Marco explained, finishing up the last piece on his plate.

"Maybe when I'm Queen, I'll decree that every boy has to be turned into a girl to understand the pains of womanhood." Star joked, but sounded as if she was half serious.

"Star…" Marco warned, his brows knitting together.

"What, I was kidding… I mean who would do something like that to the entire male population…" She leaned into Marco with a mischievous grin, causing him to sigh.

"Don't you have to pass it through the council of elders and stuff?" Marco asked, having gone with Star to a few gatherings before. To this, Star just stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Those old farts? No way, I'm gonna use my Queenly power and turn them into girls first!" Star replied, making her wand sparkle to emphasize her point. Never mind that they would probably turn into grannies way past their reproductive years.

"Well, I guess it's for a good cause anyway." Marco agreed reluctantly, knowing that without someone like him whom she'd listen to, Mewni would probably be subject to a lot of odd decrees and laws.

"Anyway, what are we doing today, no school and all." Marco asked, leaning back into the fluffiness of the sofa. Star however kept eating, looking around for ideas of what to do today until she spied a picture of Marco's family at the beach.

"Marco!" She shouted much too closely to his ear. "I want to see the sea and build sandforts!" She began to shake with excitement.

Marco replied with a smile, happy to see his best friend so eager again despite her mistake in naming sandcastles. That was until, he realized something else that made his cheeks drop.

"Marco?" Star had to ask, seeing that his smile suddenly fell and his pupils suddenly shrunk.

"I don't have anything to wear… I'm still a girl!" Marco replied, crestfallen for letting down his best friend. "Sorry Star…"

"Don't worry your little head over it Marco." Star replied, petting him on the head. "We can work our way around that easy." Star's eyes glinted with evil intent.

"…if you mean buying a swimsuit and not consulting Glossaryk on how far he's gotten on a solution, then I don't wanna hear it." Marco replied, reading Star's mind.

Star scoffed, pretending to be offended by Marco's accusation.

"Of course I meant ask Glossaryk how he's doing. What kind of friend would force his friend into wearing a cute frilly two piece?" Star replied, whistling to prove her innocence.

Marco could only sigh as he got up from the sofa and walked away till her was right beside the stairs.

"Glossaryk can you come down here… please…" Marco called, waiting for any sign that the little blue man had heard him.

Much to his delight, Glossaryk didn't need much coaxing. Star's heavy tome of spells flew down the stairs and landed in front of him, opening quickly to reveal the tiny man in a bathrobe lazing about.

"Good morning Milday!" Glossaryk greeted with a bow.

"For the last time, I'm not a… How far are you in your research on a counterspell?" Marco asked, already feeling exasperated with talking to the tiny man.

However instead of answering Marco, the blue man floated about, circling Marco and studying him closely without a word. Even taking the time to examine the ends of Marco's long luxurious hair.

"What is it?" Marco asked, feeling as if Glossaryk was looking right through him.

"Something's… different around here." Were the only words that came out of Glossaryk's lips before he flew over to the living room.

"Hmmmmm…" Glossaryk kept floating around, seemingly studying nothing but an empty space before descending towards the Mewnian Princess, whom he stared at closely as well.

"Uh… Glossaryk, you're kinda in my space." Star exclaimed, trying to wave the little man away, but failing.

"Well it's not just YOUR space anymore now is it?" He replied cryptically as he flew back towards the book of spells, still staring at some invisible thing in the air.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Star asked, feeling oddly concerned by Glossaryk's actions. The little blue man living in the book had always been weird and annoying cryptic, but he always knew something.

"Oh nothing special. Just that the air around here is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A nice tasty mix of flavours, but as you eat it…" Glossaryk's explained, his voice becoming deep and raspy, making the room seem darker.

"You don't know where the peanut butter starts or the jelly ends anymore…" He ended, dramatically slipping back into the book before anyone could do anything.

"Peanut butter and jelly what?" Star said aloud, trying desperately to decode her magic tutor's words. Her eyes turned downward towards her plate of pancakes, as if the breakfast dish would offer her some enlightenment.

Marco on the other hand, was not as patient. He quickly recovered from the mystery of Glossaryk's cryptic words and forcefully opened the book once again, flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for.

"Oh Marco, nice to see you again." Glossaryk greeted while laying down on a beach chair.

"No more riddles, have you found anything to change me back or not?" Marco asked, his voice impatient.

Glossaryk opened his mouth for a moment as if to answer, but began stroking his beard instead, glancing once towards Star, before stopping again.

"…Glossaryk…" Marco muttered in a warning tone.

"Fine. Fine. There are two ways. Equally painful and excruciating in their own way." Glossaryk finally answered without strange metaphors or allusions. "The first way is that we speed up the process, having you experience everything in a single moment."

"…But?" Marco urged, knowing there was a catch. There was always a catch.

"Buuuuut… we don't know 100% for sure that it'll work. It might just extend it till you experience it naturally again aaaaand…" Glossaryk paused, to make sure Marco heard this part. "The physical pain you'll endure is roughly equal to childbirth, which is one of the worst pains known. Not to mention, you'll experience all the psychological changes in one giant burst. There's no telling how it might affect your little mortal mind after."

"Great… so I could go through a lot of physical, emotional and mental suffering for nothing. Yey for me." Marco said to himself, feeling slightly disheartened by this new information. Figures a solution wouldn't come easy.

"What's the second one?" Marco asked, feeling nothing could be worse than the first option.

"Option number two!" Glossaryk shouted animatedly, flying around like he was a magical fairy. "Is love…"

"…Love?" Marco exclaimed, raising an eyebrow to show that he didn't quite understand it.

"Correct! Love!" The tiny blue man replied quite excitedly, making Star put away her plate and run over in a panic.

"Glossaryk!" She yelled with a slightly higher pitch than usual as she attempted to catch her magic tutor, only fall into Marco's arms when he suddenly disappeared from sight.

"Star, you okay?" Marco asked, helping the princess stand upright.

"Y-yeah. Just that stupid Glossaryk…" She muttered under her breath. Weren't they supposed to be keeping that solution a secret from Marco? Well, they never really agreed in those exact words, but still…

"As I was saying…" Glossaryk's voice appeared behind them, making them jump in surprise. "The answer is love or true love's kiss to be exact." He explained, conjuring up two female dolls looking very similar to the King and Queen of Mewni.

"Usually, the Queen casts it on the King, her true love and as such, she can break the spell any time with a kiss." Glossaryk moved the dolls closer together until their lips met, causing the shorter blonde doll to transform into a short stocky bearded man.

"However… your case is different." He continued to explain, conjuring another doll in the likeness of Princess Marco. "Marco isn't your king Star, but he has to have true love's kiss."

The little Marco doll sat on the floor, looking a little despondent, just like Star was at the moment.

"So… what can we do?" Star interjected just a bit too loudly than normal. A strange expression filled the princess' face. It was a mix of dejection, anxiety and a mask of a smile, hidden slightly by the glowing and diming of her heart marks.

"Marco here has to find his true love and kiss her. Normally that would be no problem, given that Marco was actually your king and you could just kiss him in private and no one would be the wiser." Glossaryk conjured a blonde haired princess, who gave the Marco doll a kiss on the lips, causing him to turn back into the hoody wearing boy, in front of the two teens.

As they saw their miniatures lock lips, both Star and Marco looked away and scratched the back of their heads, feeling their hearts begin to race and memories of last night begin to resurface. Glossaryk however appeared to be oblivious as he continued to explain as if nothing was wrong.

"However, given how intolerant earth culture can be of same gender relationships, it could prove difficult when Marco has to kiss a girl as a girl." Glossaryk finished his explanation, waving away all the dolls he conjured, much to the relief of the two teens.

Despite their talk last night, the issue was still fresh on their minds and caused them to feel awkward. They could only be glad that the two kissing dolls had been removed from their sight.

"So which will it be? The quick and painful or the long and arduous?" Glossaryk said with a grin.

It didn't take a lot of thinking. The quick and painful option could always be a last resort of sorts.

"I think… I'll try the love thing first." Marco muttered, almost incoherently.

"Great, well you better get smooching then! Good luck you two!" Glossaryk shouted as he returned to the book of spells, making it roll all the way back to Star's room, leaving the two teens speechless and embarrassed until Marco decided to speak up.

"So… about that beach trip?" Marco muttered awkwardly, much to Star's surprise.

* * *

"Dude! A beach trip? We'll be there in like twenty minutes tops!" Jackie's mellow voice rang out as excitedly as it could from the phone before hanging up.

After cancelling the call, Star returned her phone to her bag and turned to look behind her where her best friend was busy looking through a catalogue of swimwear. Knowing how Marco was, he was probably going to look through everything until something piqued his very specific tastes.

"Have you found something you like yet?" Star shouted out, rather lazily as she had handed him the Questbuy catalogue more than an hour ago. "They literally have everything you can want you know?"

"I know Star..." He replied, putting the catalogue down, just to talk to his best friend. "It's just that, you know… it's really weird having to pick a swimsuit for myself… as a girl…" He explained, his frustration showing quite exquisitely on his very effeminate face.

A groan made its way out Star's mouth as she stomped her way onto her bed, where Marco had been sitting.

"Let me see that." Star demanded, holding out her hand.

"Star I just have to look at the rest of it and then, pick one. I have a system…" He answered back, inching farther from the princess.

"But your system takes sooooo loooooong… and Jackie's going to get here soon." Star complained, throwing her arms in the air.

"Just be patient Star, I just have to go through the last fifty or so pages." He replied, falling back down on the fluffiness of Star's bed. He had almost forgotten how soft it was.

"No no no no no! No!" Star shouted, jumping on top of her best friend and attempting to wrestle the catalogue from his hands.

"Star stop! I'm nearly done!" Marco retorted, not letting the princess have her way.

"You're going to take too long! I know you Marco Diaz! Just let me pick one for you!" She insisted, pulling with all her might knowing that Marco was stronger than her.

"Star! It's going to rip!" He tried to warn, but still keeping a firm grip on the bundle of paper.

Star knew she wasn't going to win in a game of strength against Marco and her hands were far too busy to reach for her wand. She needed to distract him somehow. Make his beautiful brown eyes explode in shock and his cute little mouth drop in surprise.

Her cheek marks lit up with a crimson glow as she said the first words that came into her head.

"If you don't let go I'm going to kiss you!" She shouted, quite boldly despite the quickening of her heartbeat.

"W-what?!" Marco exclaimed, his grip loosening quite a bit. "T-that won't work on me Star! We already talked about this!"

"I'm really, REALLY gonna do it if you don't let go Diaz!" She grunted as continued to struggle against her best friend. Her threat was going to work. It had to.

"We both know that's not going to happen!" He answered back, getting lost in the moment and forgetting what they were arguing about in the first place.

"Oh yeah! Here I go!" Star shouted out, slowly leaning in towards Marco and trying to convince herself this was a good idea.

"Not gonna happen!" Marco shouted one last time before he saw his best friend's face inches away from his own. A fierce blush appeared on his cheeks as his hands took a life of their own, loosening his grip on the magazine and attempting to reach for the face of the girl in front of him.

Star felt his hold on the catalogue loosen and took no time in wresting it from his hands. Quickly letting herself fall beside her best friend, she lay there for a few moments, wordlessly staring at the ceiling much like her friend was. It felt like there was so much to say and think, but nothing at all.

"I win!" She exclaimed after a while, jumping off the bed and plunging behind the catalogue's pages, sifting through them quickly as her friend continued to be quiet.

It didn't take her long to pick one. "Here we are, this is a perfect shade of pink for you Marco!" She shouted quite energetically as she dialled a number on her phone.

"Hello Quest Buy Delivery? Yeah… I'd like to order item number 46129-BYII... yes the pink one. Uhuh, charge it to my account. Five minutes? Okay, thank you!" Star spoke into her phone as she walked around the room, acting as she usually would.

She threw the catalogue back towards Marco, making it land flat on his face as she ran off to another end of her room before he could even react.

"Just sign the papers for me Marco! I'm gonna pick from my swimsuits too!" She shouted, disappearing behind her dressing room door and quickly leaving her best friend to be alone with his thoughts.

* * *

On the other side of her dressing room door, Star Butterfly could finally let out all the things that had been building up inside her, after casting a one way soundproof spell of course.

"That wasn't too weird right? He didn't notice that tiny little awkward silence after I narrowly dodged his lips? Yeah, that was alright…" She muttered to herself as she paced in circles again and again. But after a few moments of silent nodding, she began to pull at her hair.

"Of course it was weird! You just nearly kissed like a few days ago and now you're making jokes about it?!" Another voice sounding much like hers answered back. "Didn't you see how he just lay there even while you flung the magazine at his face?" The voice accused.

"What no… that was just Marco being in awe at my battle tactics. Nothing weird about threatening to kiss your best friend!" Star shouted back, laughing nervously.

"Stop lying to yourself Butterfly! He was obviously weirded out. Things were going back to normal again and you had to bring up kissing again!" The voice answered harshly.

"Well it's not my fault that he has these brilliant chocolate brown eyes and soft little lips. And we're trying to get him to kiss Jackie today… somehow. So how can I not think about it?!" She shouted back, starting to get irritated.

"So you were thinking about it! What's next, you're going to try and steal Jackie's kiss? You know Marco has been crushing on her since forever! Those two are practically perfect together!" The angry voice screamed.

"What, how could you say that! I'd never do that! I just want Marco to be happy! Don't talk like you know me!" Star replied, getting angry as well.

"Know you? I am you!" Star's voice rebutted.

"Well maybe I don't know myself that well!" Star countered. "And, you're starting to sound a lot like mom!"

"That means that you're starting to sound like her too you know?" The voice reasoned out.

"You know what?!" Star shouted at loud as she could, finally being fed up with this discussion with herself. "Yes! Yes, I have a tiny little crush on my best friend! And I think he's cute and brave and smart and cooks really awesome nachos and makes everyday fun no matter what we're doing! I've thought of him as more than a friend on several occasions and even imagined him ruling Mewni beside me. Yes, I hoped in some way, somehow, some day… he'd like me back, but I also know he loves Jackie and he's loved her all these years…" She declared to the world with no fear of being overheard thanks to her spell.

"And as his best friend, I'll support him in pursuing her. Much more than liking him, I want him to be happy and I'm going to make sure he becomes happy! He deserves it!" She claimed the truth in every word, before dropping to her knees letting a few tears tease the edges of her eyes, fighting valiantly to keep them at bay.

"My feelings have to fade away sometime right?" She asked aloud, hoping to hear an answer, but the voice she had been fighting with fell silent. All she could hear was the silence of her mind and all she could feel was the hard wood floor, beginning to mark the soft skin on her knees.

Star Butterfly knew better than to get in the way of true love.

* * *

Star's eyes widened in awe as she took in the sight before her. Water so blue, so clear that it almost seemed unreal. The pure white sand, clean as ivory. Towering mountains sprouting out of the see with lush greenery and colofrul flowers of every kind. Peaceful exotic birds and wildlife playing about without a care. It was like a land untouched by man save for the small wooden huts and the few canoes the locals used tucked in the corner.

She had doubted Marco's words when he said they'd go to one of the most beautiful places on earth to swim, but now all she could think was why he hadn't taken her here sooner.

"Whoa… nice place Marci…" Jackie commented as she stepped out of the portal and just let her eyes wander.

"Well, I kinda just searched the most beautiful beaches on the planet and I picked El Nido. Not really a big deal when you have dimensional scissors you know?" Marco explained, laughing a bit nervously afterwards.

That jogged Star's memory. That was why. She was why. Marco took them here for Jackie, not her. A thought that tugged harshly at her heartstrings though she would never show it. Besides, she already decided to support the two lovebirds anyway.

In an effort to make things normal, she dropped her bags at one of the huts and pulled out Marco's boombox, ready to blast some tunes.

"Who's ready to party!?" Star shouted out, raising the boombox over her head and playing some party music.

"Oh girl you know I'm always ready!?" Another voice answered, floating through another portal followed by three other girls, all dressed in beach attire.

"Pony, Kelly, Starfan13, Janna Banana! You guys made it!" Star screamed, ecstatic, putting the boombox down and pulling them all in a hug. She really needed them here right now. Sure, Marco was against it, saying it would be harder to get Jackie alone, but Star insisted, saying it would make things more casual and thus, easier.

The truth was though, she didn't want to be alone when Marco put his lips against Jackie's. She needed all the distraction and good vibes she could get.

"I'm here to take pictures of you and Marica in swimsuits." Starfan13 declared proudly, breathing heavily in Star's embrace.

Well… Mostly good vibes.

The day passed by quickly. They swam in the crystal blue waters, played around with a beach ball, and splashed each other with water till Star summoned a tidal wave, washing everyone away. They were having a blast, dancing and goofing off as Starfan13 kept taking pictures of all of them for her collection.

Despite all the laughing and horseplay, Star wasn't tired at all. It took a lot for her and Marco to get tired these days because of their constant adventures. On the other hand, the rest of their crew were relaxing and chatting on the beach as Star drifted on into the peaceful waters. Floating serenely and staring at the sky beginning to be tinted in streaks of yellow and orange.

That was until, and Ponyhead shaped shadow flew over her.

"Hey bestie." Ponyhead greeted, floating down beside her and letting her mane dip into the water.

"Hey Pony, this was a fun day huh?" Star replied, her eyes still glued to the sky.

"Yeah, it was pretty rad. Something's been bothering me though…" Ponyhead commented, looking at her bestie's face, which was rather blank at the moment.

"What's earth turd doing pretending to be a girl? And why's he acting all weird around that skater chick?" She commented, quite normally.

Star felt her body tense upon hearing her bestie's words, causing her to suddenly sink below the waters and struggle with all her might to get back up, gasping desperately for air.

"Pony! You knew?!" Star exclaimed, both panic and surprise written all over her face.

"Well, yeah… I mean not the first time I've seen Turdina in a wig, but how he pulled off getting man-boobs and hiding his man bits down there, I'll never know." Pony replied casually, not questioning Marco's new wardrobe preference at all.

Star was glad they were quite far from the beach. Otherwise the rest of their friends would have heard their conversation.

"Did you tell anyone else?" Star asked immediately, pulling Ponyhead down by her braid.

"Uh… no, I thought everyone was just playing along and calling him Marcia. Nice choice on his swimsuit by the way, pink really is his color."

"Oh thanks, I knew it would look good when I saw it… I mean, Pony you CANNOT tell anyone that Marcia is Marco." Star whispered rather loudly into her bestie's face, which is really all there is of her.

"Ummm… Okay? I thought he just finally found himself or something. But hey, if it's a secret, at least I don't have to worry about my bestie crushing on him and kidnapping him." Ponyhead replied, quite happily.

"W-what? I don't have a crush on Marco!" Star claimed, her hearts glowing red. "And Marco's not finding himself or anything. I just accidentally turned him into a girl with some stupid spell and we're still trying to reverse it." Star explained, letting Ponyhead fly around freely again.

For a moment, Ponyhead looked deep in thought and then stared off into the distance where the sun was setting.

"So… basically, you turned Marco into Marcia and he's pretending to be whole different person until you figure out how to fix it?" Pony head voice out her thoughts, seeing Star confirm them with a nod.

"And you have a crush on him." She added, making Star's body tense and sink beneath the waters again.

She climbed her way to the surface, gasping for breath and coughing out sea water again.

"For the last time, I don't have a crush on Marco! Okay, maybe he's kinda cute, but a lot of things are cute you know?" Star babbled, not meeting Ponyhead's eyes even once.

"Pssshhhh… yeah right girl. You've been looking at him and that Jackie girl all day long. Don't think I didn't notice. I'm not your best bestie for nothing!"

Star wanted to slap herself over and over for being so obvious. Ponyhead was right. Even though she tried to have fun and keep her mind busy with her friends, her eyes would wander off to Marco and Jackie who were just chatting and laughing away, oblivious to everyone else around them. Ponyhead had known her the longest. She had seen how she acted when she was interested in someone or when she was falling hard. Of course, she'd notice. Despite how ditzy and carefree she acted, Ponyhead was rather perceptive of things like these.

"Okay… you're right. I do have a bit of a crush on him." She admitted, meeting Ponyhead's eyes just for a moment. "But it's just that and he likes that Jackie girl, always has. And I've been trying to help him get together with her since forever." Star explained, her eyes pleading with every glimmer they could muster. "So, you can't ever tell anyone about this. Not until my crush goes away."

Ponyhead's expression became gloomy like a heavy rain cloud. It seemed she didn't like what she was hearing. Star Butterfly was always one to go after what she wanted despite what others thought, but she was willing to give her feelings up for this earth boy's happiness. To Ponyhead, if that didn't say how much her best friend felt for the boy, then, nothing did.

"Fine Star, but just so you know. I've got your back no matter what you choose to do." Ponyhead answered, looking away from her bestfriend to hide the tears teasing her eyes.

"Pony… thank you. You're the best bestie I could ever ask for." Star replied, pulling Ponyhead into a gentle hug.

"Uh… best bestie?" Ponyhead, muttered from the side of her mouth.

"Yeah best bestie?" Star replied, hugging her closer.

"Don't mean to ruin our moment here. But I think we should hide." Ponyhead whispered, as softly as she could as she sank into the water with Star.

"Why what's wrong? Why do we need to… Oh no…" Star's eyes widened as far as they could go as she sank further into the water, hiding in the shadows of the rocks nearby. This just had to happen. She should've expected it. These things always happened to her. It was like some cruel joke. She and Ponyhead silently waded their way behind cover, hiding from the two lovebirds watching the sunset from one of the boats.

"I can't hear what they're saying. Girl we have to get closer." Ponyhead urged, trying to free herself from Star's grasp.

"What no!" Star whispered back. "They're going to kiss for sure and I don't want to be there to see that!"

"So… this Jackie chick swings both ways then?" Ponyhead asked, just to clarify.

"What no… at least I don't think so." Star replied, still being as quiet as possible.

"Well then, it's gonna be weird when Marco kisses her." She replied, still peeking at the silhouettes of the couple on the boat.

"What no, Jackie's cool. Plus when they kiss Marco's gonna turn back into a boy cuz of true love, so it's all cool." Star explained, denying the urge to peek over the rocks as well.

"Star?" Ponyhead asked, watching as Marco stopped rowing and carefully placing himself right beside Jackie on the native watercraft.

"I told you Pony, I don't wanna see it or hear about it." Star replied, quite annoyed.

"Well you're gonna wanna hear it, cuz your earth bestie is about to turn back into a guy, while still wearing that pink bikini you got him. And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he trying to hide that he was Marcia in the first place?" Pony explained, despite Star's annoyed reply.

"…"

"…"

"…Oh no…" Star finally muttered, realizing the fatal flaw in their plan. Seeing Marco's boy bits hanging out of a pink bikini was no way to start a good relationship.

"We have to stop that kiss!" Star screamed, as quietly as she could. Her eyes had a crazed look in them that Ponyhead recognized as trouble brewing.

"Well, you have to do something fast then cuz…" Ponyhead replied as she pushed Star past the rock, just in time to see Marco begin to lean into Jackie Lynn Thomas' lips.

Time slowed down as Star used every ounce of her brain power to grab her wand from her back, face it towards the romantic couple in the sunset and use whatever spell first came into her mind in order to save her best friend from utter embarrassment.

* * *

A few moments before, as two friends rode the waves into the sunset beyond the mountain's protecting the beauty of the pristine beach.

Marco Ubaldo Diaz was nervous. He had every right to be. Despite being stuck in a girl's body, he had just spent the entire day talking, playing and joking around with his lifelong crush. Sure, he had gotten used to hanging out with her and got to know her so much more, but it didn't change the fact the she was beautiful in her pure white swimsuit that accentuated her mermaid like beauty. It was like she belonged her on the sea and Marco couldn't help but stare.

Here they were. He had invited her to go watch the sunset with him. It was perfect, they were all alone. As long as he swallowed all his nervousness, nothing could go wrong. It was all on him.

"Jackie?" He called out her name, quite nervously.

"Yeah Marcie?" She replied, adopting Janna's new nickname for him.

"Today's been really fun and cool… And I really enjoy hanging out with you." He muttered, looking at the ripples in the water.

Jackie giggled. "Thanks Marcie, I really enjoy hanging out with you too. Don't take this the wrong way, but seeing how beautiful you were, I thought you were kinda like those school queen types. Didn't think you'd ever choose to hang out with someone who's just a regular girl like… well me."

Marco couldn't believe his ears. Jackie Lynn Thomas didn't think she was anything special. That she was gorgeous with the gentle curls of her sun bleached blonde hair, her aquamarine eyes and her cute little freckles. It was unacceptable.

"What are you talking about? You're Jackie Lynn Thomas. You're like the prettiest girl in school! You have this natural curling hair in the color of a beach early in the morning. You have the most stunning eyes that just shine and glimmer that it's not fair. You have these beautiful long eye lashes that just make you look more alluring despite all the cool sporty stuff you do! "You have these cute freckles around your cheeks that make you look so adorable. Look at you! Look at your mind-blowing figure. You're like a Hollywood actress with real curves. From your chest to your waist to your butt and thighs? You're just… amazing!" Marco almost shouted out, running out of breath at the end of his rant, scarcely believing he had said all that.

All Jackie could do was blush, feel the heat rise in her cheeks and wonder why a girl was making her heart beat so fast.

"T-thanks Marcie. No one's ever said that to me before." Jackie replied shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Thanks…"

Marco could only stare at her in awe. If she was beautiful then, the light of the fading sun made her even more perfect now. He couldn't help but be drawn to her.

"Don't thank me… I'm just saying what I see." He explained, slowly leaning closer to her.

"Still… I-I really… appreciate it." Jackie replied, feeling herself strangely drawn closer as well.

This was it. The moment Marco had been waiting for. The moment he would kiss Jackie Lynn Thomas, his lifelong crush and turn back into a man. Nothing could ruin this perfect moment anymore. Nothing in this world could deny him of this.

Unfortunately for him, as both he and Jackie closed their eyes, forces from beyond this world needed to have a say in the matter.

"MEGA NARWHAL BLAST!" A voice screamed out from somewhere nearby. The poor boy felt something large, wet and heavy as a whale ram against his face and sending him plummeting into the water. The last thing he could remember was seeing the loveliest mermaid with golden hair flowing in the water desperately reaching out her hand to save him, before the murkiness of the sea took him.

* * *

The once excited and noisy group at the beach fell silent as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. They were all huddled around their friend who was still unconscious after being thrown off the boat and into the water. Some were quiet, some were panicked, and others were desperately trying to help.

"Don't die on me… please don't die… I didn't mean to do that…" Star cried out, as she kept using her weight to press into his chest again and again. She felt this was all her fault. She overreacted and now Marco paid the price for her foolishness, again.

As soon as Marco fell into the water, Star jumped in after him, swimming harder than she ever had in her life. Within moments, she had pulled him back up on the boat where Jackie had been waiting and bunny rocketed them back to shore where they were attempting to revive him.

"Here, give me room!" Jackie ordered, clearing everyone away from Marco's head. She knelt down on the sand beside him, taking a deep breath and leaning into his lips, to give him life. Again and again she did it, as Star kept pumping her hands on his chest until finally, he coughed up water and gasped.

"W-what happened? My mouth tastes like the ocean..." He commented upon sitting up, only to be forced back down by Star who wrapped her arms around him so tightly, as if afraid he might suddenly disappear.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Star cried out with tears in her eyes as she dug her face into the crook of his neck. "It was my fault, I hit you with a narwhal blast and you fell into the water and then, and then I jumped in after you and pulled you out, but you weren't breathing anymore." She babbled on, much too fast for Marco to understand everything, but what he understood was that she was sorry.

In reply, he just held her and kept stroking her head.

"Hey Star, I'm alright now. So no need to worry. Thanks for saving me." He whispered in her ear.

Star rubbed her eyes clear of any tears, before looking back at her best friend who already looked much better than he did moments ago.

"You should thank Jackie too. She gave you the lips of life, I just did the chest pumping thing." Star explained, getting off Marco, who blushed lightly at that statement.

"W-well, thanks to both of you." He replied, clumsily getting up with Star's help.

"I don't mean to rush anyone, but I think we should all head back now So Marica can rest. Also, it's getting dark here so it's probably morning back home." Janna suddenly said, making everyone realize they were half a world away from Echo Creek.

Everyone agreed and started to pack up, except for Marco whom Star forced to rest. Upon collecting all their things, the group stepped through the portal again, returning them home to Echo Creek.

Upon getting home, Star wasted no time in getting Marco cleaned and dried with her wand, even if he insisted that he could handle himself. And upon sending everyone home via the dimensional scissors, forced Marco into bed, promising to explain everything only if he got some rest.

Unable to argue with the Magical Princess and still feeling a bit weak, he decided to make the most of their extended holiday and let himself slip into his dreams of mermaids and narwhals.

However, hours later, he awoke and according to his clock, it was around noon in Echo Creek. He stretched his arms with a yawn and tried to move his legs off his bed, only to feel something on them. He turned his gaze downwards and saw Star, sitting on a chair and fast asleep on his lower limbs.

"She probably stayed here the whole time…" Marco said to no one in particular as he gave up getting off his bed lest he wake the sleeping princess.

"Marco… don't… Don't leave me…" She muttered in her sleep, a frightened frown knitting itself into her face.

Marco could only stroke her hair, slowly putting her at ease as her expression softened once again.

"My life hasn't been boring ever since you came into it." Marco muttered, with a chuckle as he watched the princess doze off peacefully and remembering all the times he had nearly met his maker.

Deciding to find something to do, while the princess slumbered, he looked around his room and found his mirror across the bed.

He didn't really have the time to take it all in after woke up on the beach, but after all that… he was still a girl. It made him sigh, he thought it would've worked, after all he still technically locked lips with Jackie. Maybe it didn't count because he wasn't awake?

Suddenly, he felt something stir.

"Marco?" Star muttered with a yawn, stretching her arms out as he did earlier on. "How long have you been awake?" She asked, rubbing her eyes clear.

"Just a few minutes. Did you get to rest too Star?" He asked back.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm peachy." She replied, cracking her back a bit.

"Yeah, it doesn't look like you got to rest well." Marco observed, seeing how she tried to stretch out her spine. He carried himself to the edge of his bed, making enough room for another person.

"Come on Star, you can lie down while we talk about earlier." He invited, patting the space beside him.

"Right… talk…" Star replied, slowly getting into bed beside Marco and mentally rehearsing what she would say to him.

"So…" Marco started.

"So…" Star replied, almost playfully.

"So why'd you narwhal blast me?" He asked, almost too casually.

"Well, there's a really funny story behind that…" Star replied, looking around his room and wishing Ponyhead was here to help her explain.

"We've got the time." Marco replied back, easing into his pillows and feeling too relaxed despite having a princess sharing his bed. Well, maybe the past few days of being a girl had something to do with that.

"Okay, but remember… I did it for you." Star clarified, earning a raised eyebrow from her best friend, who thought it better than to ask questions.

"Okay, so first…" Star hesitated, taking a breathe before continuing. "Ponyhead saw through the whole Marcia Diaz thing, but thought you just found yourself or something? Funny right?" Star explained, looking to Marco to see his reaction.

"Well, I guess she is my bestie too. Should've known she'd see through it" Marco replied calmly, letting Star continue her story.

"Yeah, should've known…." Star chuckled, remembering her similar sentiments hours ago. "So anyway, while we were talking near some rocks, we saw you and Jackie in your love boat." Star babbled in that fast and panicked way that she did.

"Love boat?" Marco asked, earning him a weird glare from Star.

"Relation-ship, whatever you wanna call it! Anyway, so we hid so we wouldn't bother you, but then Pony realized something wrong with our plan." Star continued.

"What? Our plan was perfect. What could possibly be wrong with it?" Marco raised his voice a bit, not believing Star's words.

Star put a finger to Marco's mouth, forcing him to quiet down. "Shhh… I'm getting there. Anyway, I explained to Pony that when you kissed Jackie, you'd turn back into a guy, but then she said, you'd be turning back into a guy in front of Jackie…" Star explained, her voice waning a bit near the end.

"Oh no…" Marco muttered as he covered his face with his hands.

"Still in that pretty frilly pink bikini…" Star described further.

"I get the picture Star…" He replied, still pushing his hands into his face.

"So me, being a good friend and left with so little time, did the first thing I could to save my best friend… even if I kinda nearly killed you in the first place." Star curled up in Marco's sheets in guilt, not wanting to see the expression on his face. Even if she did it with the best of intentions, it didn't change the fact that she nearly killed him.

"Star…" Marco called, his voice steady.

"Yeah?" She replied meekly, still wrapped in blankets.

"Thanks for saving me from a lifetime of embarrassment and horrible nightmares." He replied, hugging her through the blankets.

"Yeah… about that too." Star interjected.

"What?" Marco asked, still holding Star.

"You do know that you and Jackie technically still kissed right?" She asked, finally locking eyes with her best friend.

"You mean the CPR counts?" Marco asked, a bit surprised.

"Yeah… worked with Snow White, Sleeping Beauty… and Glossaryk says it counts too." Star explained, finally coming out of the blankets.

Marco let himself sink into his pillows again and stared at the ceiling. If the lips of life counted as a kiss, then the implications of that were kind of shocking, especially for Marco.

The young half latino man covered his eyes with one arm, feeling crestfallen and a bit frustrated with the world.

"So in short, Jackie's not my true love then…" He asked, but said it as an empty statement.

The sound of his lifeless voice, made Star's heart sink. She never liked seeing Marco sad. It just broke her somewhere deep inside for reasons beyond what she could explain with words. All she knew was that she'd try just about anything to make him feel better.

"Well, Glossaryk had some stuff to say about that too…" She added, hoping it would get his spirits up.

"What did he say now?" Marco replied, sounding as if he was complaining.

"Well…" She started, being very careful to pick the right words. "He said true love is a tricky thing and no one has been able to define or control it. So maybe, Jackie isn't your true love YET because you don't know her that well enough. So you know, you guys could still be? After all, you two look so cute together!" Star explained, taking Glossaryk's word's very, very loosely in order to cheer up her best friend.

After a few moments of silence as they lay together under the warm sheets, Marco finally took his arm off his eyes and looked at his best friend, giving her a light hug as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Thanks Star." He whispered just loud enough so she could hear.

"Anytime Marco." She replied, letting herself relax into the warmth of his presence, scooching just a little bit closer for comfort before she fell asleep, free from the thoughts in her head.

She had just lied to her best friend. But she did it to make him happy and that was okay, wasn't it?

* * *

Yes, Star is a liar, just like her parents... omitters!

That's the end of this chapter. Please review :) And if you're authors as well, please make more fanfics as well. I need Starco to survive...


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